Multi Peaked Spectra Investigation
In order to better define the unique ocean-resource we have on Canada's Western Coast, we need to investigate what makes it different than other locations. When compared to the North Sea, the home of early ocean wave research, one of these differentiating factors is that the Pacific Ocean tends to have more pronounced secondary and even tertiary wave-modes present in the direction-frequency spectrum. An example spectrum that is highly bi-modal is shown in the figure below. This kind of ocean behaviour presents problems to the current approach of assessing the ocean energy resource.
So far, an efficient spectral partitioning algorithm has been implemented as a significant step towards being better able to investigate this issue. This algorithm follows the work done by Thomas Gerling in 1991: 'Partitioning Sequences and Arrays of Directional Ocean Wave Spectra into Component Wave Systems'. The output of this algorithm allows us to understand each wave-modes energy contribution to the whole spectrum, to track component wave-modes temporally, and to quantify the level of modality of a spectrum. The following figure shows an example of a partitioned wave-mode.
Another interesting output is a comparison of histograms for the whole spectrum and the primary wave-mode. The number in each bin represents the hours of occurrence of a particular sea-state over an 8 month period, and the colour represents the percent of power contained in a sea state relative to the total power in the histogram. Further results will be presented as the research progresses.
