Title: On the Study of Wave Propagation and Distribution in the Global Ocean.

Journal: Journal of Ocean University of China (Oceanic and Coastal Sea Research), 18 (4): 803-811.

Authors: LIU M., and D. -L. Zhao*

Abstract: Based on the simulation with SWAN wave model and data of ERA-Interim from 1979 to 2016, how the waves propagate globally and why swell pools distribute in the eastern ocean were investigated in this study. The simulation results show that waves from North Pacific and North Atlantic mainly propagate southeastward or southward and swells generated in Southern Ocean spread northeastward. The waves from high latitude regions spread along the east coast and encounter in the tropical Pacific and Atlantic to form swell fronts around equator and then turn eastward. As the weak wind field with numerous swell inflows, swell pools are generally located on the eastern side of the ocean basin, where the swell index S are greater than 0.9 calculated using ERA-20C data for the period of 1981–2010. Another remarkable feature is that swell pools move southward and split into two parts in winter, while they move northward and merge together in summer.