WAVE EXPOSURE MODELLING TO SUPPORT AQUACULTURE SITING

Wave energy forecasting is an essential exercise to understand its impact on engineering and biological structures. A wind wave-forecasting model, Wave Exposure Model (WEMo), was designed specifically for shallow water areas in confined water bodies with minimum effects from open ocean swells. WEMo explicitly uses wave generation, shoaling and nonlinear dissipative processes as wave breaking and bottom friction to calculate wave energy. The model works in a Geographic Information System (GIS) format in association with ArcGIS. A newer version of WEMo will soon be released with added functionality of handling batch datasets and faster processing that could make it a suitable tool for aquaculture applications.

Wind wave energy is an essential component in siting new or expanding aquaculture facilities.  Surface conditions such as waves and high currents during storms can add stress to aquaculture gear leading to structural failures and detrimental effects on production schedules and operational costs.  WEMo could provide a wind wave energy regime for siting a potential aquaculture operation at various temporal and geographical scales. Output from WEMo along with other information will be a part of aquaculture siting tools provided by NOAA for shellfish or finfish aquaculture around the country. WEMo wave energy profiles will also give aquaculture industry and engineers a means to calculate added stress due to waves on aquaculture structures, including nets, bags, lines, anchors, and other ground tackle.