Trend analysis of the wave storminess: the wave direction

Abstract

In this paper changes in the wave pattern of the Catalan coast are analyzed in terms of wave storminess and wave direction based on series of 44 years of hindcast wave data. The analysis is performed employing two different techniques: one resulting from the combination of regression and bootstrapping and the other applying a Bayesian method. Although the trends are, in general, null, in some locations there are clear changes in the wave directional frequencies. These changes can significatively affect coastal hydrodynamics and morphodynamics.