DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17988245
title: Wave parameters (in situ)

description: High-frequency wave parameters dataset

The Wave parameters product is providing high-frequency wave measurements collected by in-situ instrumentation. The time series is provided as continuous hourly measurements. The output files are provided as point measurements at fixed coastal locations, characterizing local wave climate conditions. The data product also delivers comprehensive quality control flags following Copernicus Marine In Situ TAC standards. 

Detailed information on the included datasets and vocabularies can be found in the Product User Manual.  

Technical details

The datasets are provided separately for each location in NetCDF format.

Each file contains a time series of wave parameters, their corresponding quality control flags and additional metadata.

Parameters

This product includes time series of wave height, period, and direction derived from direct measurements of sea surface elevation, pressure, and current velocity profiles. The wave parameters included in the dataset are listed below.

 








Variable



Long Name



Units





VHM0



Significant wave height



m





VZMX



Maximum wave height



m





VTGA



Mean wave period



s





VMDR



Mean wave direction



degree





VAVH



Average wave height (1/3)



m





VH110



Average wave height (1/10)



m





VHZA



Mean zero-crossing wave height



m





VTMX



Maximum wave period



s





VTPK



Peak wave period



s





VAVT



Average crest period



s





VT110



Average wave period (1/10)



s





VPSP



Peak spectral period



s





ECOD



Error code



dimensionless






Data sources

Platforms: Fixed benthic node 

Instruments: AWAC 600KHz (Acoustic Wave and Current Profiler) 

Data quality

While underlying sensors provide high precision (e.g., velocity ±1%, pressure ±0.25%, heading ±2∘), the final accuracy of wave parameters (Hs, Tp, direction) is not a fixed value. It is strictly dependent on deployment depth, configuration, and the limitation that resolvable wavelengths must be ≥2× the horizontal cell separation. 

A comprehensive quality control (QC) procedure has been applied to the data, following international Quality Assurance of Real-Time Oceanographic Data (QARTOD) standards and best practices, consistent with Copernicus Marine In Situ TAC standards. Flags are assigned based on automated QC tests, including global range, regional range, spike detection, gradient analysis, and stationarity tests. 

 

Something about known issues: Data gaps may occur due to instrument failures, maintenance periods, or extreme weather conditions. Accuracy can be affected by biofouling on sensors, particularly for pressure-based measurements. Wave direction measurements may have reduced accuracy in low wave energy conditions.

Spatial and Temporal coverage

 








Site



Longitude



Latitude



Period





Cala Millor



3.39974



39.59236



2011-05-20 to 2025-11-13





Muro



3.150683



39.813317



2022-09-29 to 2025-10-22





Son Bou



4.06372



39.89645



2022-20-05 to 2025-10-14






Contact information

For further technical inquiries or additional information about the dataset, please contact  mobims@socib.es