Average wave conditions, their seasonal cycle and decadal variations, and extreme wave storms in the northern Baltic Sea are studied on the basis of long-term time series from Almagrundet (1978-2003) and Vilsandi (1954-2005), and wave statistics from the middle of the northern Baltic Proper. The typical wave periods are 3-4 s in coastal areas and 4-6 s on the open sea. The monthly mean wave height varies from about 0.4 (0.5) m in April-July to 0.8 (1.3-1.4) m in January at Vilsandi (Almagrundet). The annual mean wave height varied insignificantly in the 1960s-1970s, considerably increased in the 1980s, was at highest in the mid-1990s, and rapidly decreases in 1998-2005. Significant wave heights H S ≥ 4m occur with a probability of about 1%. Extreme wave conditions with H S ≥ 7m have been registered five times since 1978. The records overlook 2-3 such cases. The overall recorded maximum H S is 7.8 m. The estimated maximum of H S was 9.5 m in cyclone Gudrun in January 2005. © 2008 Springer Netherlands.
CITATION STYLE
Soomere, T. (2016). Extremes and decadal variations of the northern Baltic Sea wave conditions. In Extreme Ocean Waves (pp. 139–157). Springer Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-8314-3_8
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