Modeling Ocean Wave Conditions at a Shallow Coast Under Scarce Data Availability: A Case Study in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam

Abstract

In the presented work, design conditions for breakwaters were derived from offshore climate reanalysis data (ERA5), which were downscaled to the nearshore by two numerical approaches, i.e., SwanOne and Delft3D, for different average and extreme wave and weather conditions. Model validation was performed using in situ measurements. The advantages and disadvantages of both numerical approaches were investigated. Both models showed sufficient accuracy according to measurements in the field, where SwanOne offers a simple and fast calculation method, while Delft3D provides a more complete representation, not only of waves but also current dynamics. However, it requires a much broader amount of input parameters and more complex boundary conditions. Then, SwanOne was applicable to calculate nearshore wave characteristics based on the input parameters extracted from the statistical analysis of long-term ERA5 data. Based on this process, design wave heights and periods at the nearshore were determined for 10- to 100-year return periods. For breakwater design on the west coast of the Mekong Delta, maximum wave heights in a range of 1.1 m to 1.3 m at a distance of 100 m to 300 m could be determined for a return period of 20 years, corresponding to water depths of 2.33 m and 2.88 m, respectively.