High-Resolution Wave Climate Projections along the European Atlantic Coast Based on Downscaled CMIP6 Wind Forcing

Reliable projections of future wave climate are vital for coastal adaptation, infrastructure planning, and marine renewable energy development. This study introduces a high-resolution spectral wave dataset for the European Atlantic coast, produced through regional downscaling of CMIP6-based climate projections. The dataset was developed using the WRF atmospheric model in combination with two spectral wave models, WAVEWATCH III (WW3) and Simulating WAves Nearshore (SWAN), to generate 3-hourly directional wave spectra at 1,031 offshore locations, spaced at 10 km intervals and situated approximately 50 km from the coastline. The simulations encompass three 30-year periods: a historical baseline (1985–2014) and two future time slices (2030–2059) under the SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5 scenarios. Two datasets are provided: spectral energy densities and integrated wave parameters, both validated and formatted in CF-1.8-compliant NetCDF-4 files. The spectral dataset enables the initialization of new SWAN simulations, facilitating efficient site-specific wave modeling, while the integrated parameters support regional-scale analyses of climate change impacts on wave conditions. The dataset is publicly accessible via the Centre for Environmental Data Analysis (CEDA) repository and constitutes a valuable resource for research, engineering applications, and policy-making in coastal and marine environments.