Wave Climate of the White Sea

Abstract— The study presents the implementation of the third-generation spectral wave model WaveWatch III for the White Sea. The computational domain includes the White Sea, Barents Sea, and part of the Norwegian Sea. Model validation against satellite observations showed high agreement (correlation coefficient 0.92, root mean square error 0.32 m). The highest long-term mean wave heights (~1.5 m) and wavelengths (up to 60 m) occur in the White Sea Voronka under the influence of the Barents Sea. Mean wave periods reach 4.2 s. Over 42 years, mean annual wave heights increased by ~0.3 m. Storm activity was estimated using the peak over threshold method for thresholds of 2–5 m, with an average of 71 storms per year for Hs > 2 m. The results indicate strong spatial variability of the wave regime and emphasize the importance of regional zoning in storm analysis.