Wave–Hydrodynamic Modeling of the Columbia River Estuary Using One-Way Coupling Between SCHISM and WAVEWATCH III on Unstructured Grids

We present a preliminary study on the one-way coupling between the spectral wave model Wavewatch III (WW3) and the hydrodynamic model SCHISM (Semi-implicit Cross-scale Hydroscience Integrated System Model) to investigate wave–current interactions in the Columbia River estuary (USA) and its adjacent coastal ocean. WW3 is implemented on an unstructured grid, enabling high-resolution representation of the spatially complex conditions at the estuary mouth and extending into the open ocean, and it is forced with time-varying currents and water levels from SCHISM simulations. Preliminary results are compared with buoy observations and satellite-derived sea surface heights from the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission, exploring the potential of these data for model evaluation. The study combines model evaluation using satellite and buoy data with the coupling of wave and hydrodynamic models in an estuarine environment, while highlighting the relevance of unstructured grids for representing fine-scale coastal processes within a broader oceanic context.