Detection and Prediction for Sudden High Swells Along the East Coast of Korea

In recent several years, sudden high swell waves have often occurred on the east coast of the Korean Peninsula, especially in the winter season, which caused many casualties and property damage. These sudden swells have the characteristics of suddenly generating high waves even though the wind does not blow strongly, sweeping away unwary people on breakwaters or causing property damage such as ports and fish farms located on the coast. This study develops a detection and warning system for sudden high swells that frequently occur on the Korean Peninsula's east coast in winter. Using the calculated swell-wind wave height difference, significant wave height, and wind speed, we developed a sudden high swell warning system in three stages (Warning, Watch, and Attention). Analysis reveals that this system successfully detected three recent swell-related accidents on the east coast of Korea. Further experiments by applying the system to the prediction results of the wave model showed that the method successfully issued a warning 24 hours before a sudden high swell reached the east coast of the Korean peninsula. The developed system can provide quantitative and consistent forecast information, which will significantly contribute to preventing accidents caused by sudden high swells along the east coast of the Korean Peninsula. Lastly, we investigated the meteorological conditions that trigger sudden high swell based on reanalysis data and synoptic weather charts.

 

Acknowledgement: This research was supported by the Korea Meteorological Administration Research and Development Program under Grant (RS-2023-00239702)