Global Wave Height Trends and Variability from New Multimission Satellite Altimeter Products, Reanalyses, and Wave Buoys

Abstract

Long-term changes in ocean surface waves are relevant to society and climate research. Significant wave height climatologies and trends over 1992–2017 are intercompared in four recent high-quality global datasets using a consistent methodology. For two products based on satellite altimetry, including one from the European Space Agency Climate Change Initiative for Sea State, regional differences in mean climatology are linked to low and high sea states. Trends from the altimetry products, and two reanalysis and hindcast datasets, show general similarity in spatial variation and magnitude but with major differences in equatorial regions and the Indian Ocean. Discrepancies between altimetry products likely arise from differences in calibration and quality control. However, multidecadal observations at two buoy stations also highlight issues with wave buoy data, raising questions about their unqualified use, and more fundamentally about uncertainty in all products.