Assessment of wave energy resource of the Bohai Sea, Yellow Sea and East China Sea based on 10-year numerical hindcast data

The existence and variability of wave energy resources of the Bohai Sea, Yellow Sea and East China Sea are studied using the 10-year (January 1st, 2003-December 31st, 2012) numerical hindcast wave data. The numerical model is a third-generation wave model developed by Key Lab of MArine Science and NUmerical Modeling, State Oceanic Administration (SOA), China and called MASNUM-WAM (Wave Model). The input winds were obtained from the Weather Research & Forecasting Model (WRF-ARW). The output wave parameters, i.e., significant wave height (SWH), mean energy period and wave energy flux, were calculated with spatial and temporal resolutions of 5'×5' and 1 h, respectively. SWH and mean energy period are validated with in situ wave data from 7 buoys and 5 Acoustic Wave and Current meters (AWAC) and they are in good agreements. The spatial distributions and seasonal and annual variations of the wave parameters in the near-shore regions are then analyzed using the 10-year model outputs. The results show that the wave energy flux have following characterizations: 1) the spatial distributions are higher in the south and lower in the north of China seas and 2) they are maximum in winter, median in autumn and summer, and minimum in spring. In special, wave energy resource is assessed in three potential areas including Bohai Strait, adjacent seas of Qingdao and Zhoushan Islands with spatial resolution of 1'×1'. The result shows that the area adjacent Zhoushan Islands is the best choice to utilize wave energy resource.