See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/267791357

THE "SWAN" WAVE MODEL FOR SHALLOW WATER

Article  in  Coastal Engineering · January 1996

CITATIONS READS

174 1,807

3 authors, including:

Leo Holthuijsen
Delft University of Technology
107 PUBLICATIONS   9,386 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE

All content following this page was uploaded by Leo Holthuijsen on 16 January 2015.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 CHAPTER 53

THE "SWAN" WAVE MODEL FOR SHALLOW WATER

N. Booij1, L.H. Holthuijsen1 and R.C. Ris1

ABSTRACT
The numerical model SWAN (Simulating WAves Nearshore) for the computation
of wave conditions in shallow water with ambient currents is briefly described. The
model is based on a fully spectral representation of the action balance equation with
all physical processes modelled explicitly. No a priori limitations are imposed on
the spectral evolution. This makes the model a third-generation model. In
Holthuijsen et al. (1993) and Ris et al. (1994) test cases for propagation, generation
and dissipation have been shown without currents. Current effects have now been
added and academic cases are shown here. The model is also applied in a fairly
academic case of a shallow lake (Lake George, Australia) and in a complex, realistic
case of an inter-tidal area with currents (Friesche Zeegat, the Netherlands). The
results are compared with observations. A new development to formulate the model
on a curvi-linear grid to accommodate linkage to hydro-dynamic circulation models
is presented and a first test is shown.

INTRODUCTION
Over the last decade, the traditional wave ray models in coastal engineering to
compute waves in nearshore conditions are being replaced by models that formulate
the wave evolution in terms of a spectral energy balance on a regular grid (or the
action balance in the presence of ambient currents). In third-generation versions of
such models the wave spectrum is allowed to evolve free of any a priori limitations
and all relevant physical processes are represented explicitly in a discrete spectral
formulation. Such a wave model (the SWAN model), with the inclusion of ambient
currents is described here. Conceptually it is an extension of deep water third-
generation wave models but the physical processes and the numerical techniques
involved are more complicated. The SWAN wave model has been conceived to be
a computationally feasible third-generation spectral wave model for waves in shallow
water (including the surf zone) with ambient currents in a consulting environment
with return times of less than 30 min on a desk top computer.

Delft University of Technology, Department of Civil Engineering, P.O. Box 5048,

2600 GA Delft, Netherlands.
 "SWAN" WAVE MODEL 669

THE SWAN WAVE MODEL

The SWAN wave model (Ris et al., 1994) is a fully discrete spectral model
based on the action balance equation which implicitly takes into account the
interaction between waves and currents through radiation stresses (e.g., Phillips,
1977):
|NW)+VIy.[ciyNW)]4KNW)]4[c,NM]=M
ot do do o

The first term in the left-hand side is the rate of change of action density in
time, the second term is the rectilinear propagation of action in geographical x-,y-
space. The third term describes the shifting of the relative frequency due to currents
and time-varying depths with propagation velocity c„ in cr-space. The fourth term
represents the propagation in 0-space (depth- and current-induced refraction) with
propagation velocity ce. The term S(<x,6) at the right hand side of the action balance
equation is the source term representing the growth by wind, the wave-wave
interactions and the decay by bottom friction, whitecapping and depth-induced wave
breaking.

To reduce computer time, we remove time from the action balance equation
(i.e., d/dt = 0). This is acceptable for most coastal conditions since the residence
time of the waves is usually far less than the time scale of variations of the wave
boundary conditions, the ambient current, wind or the tide. For cases in which the
time scale of these variations becomes important, i.e., variable incoming waves at
the boundary, or variable winds or currents, a quasi-stationary approach can be
taken by repeating the computations for predefined time intervals.

The formulations for the generation, the dissipation and the quadruplet wave-
wave interactions are taken from the WAM model (WAM Cycle 3, WAMDI group,
1988 and optionally WAM Cycle 4, Komen et al., 1994 as presently operational at
the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting). For the present study
the formulations from WAM Cycle 3 are used. These are supplemented with a
spectral version of the dissipation model for depth-induced breaking of Battjes and
Janssen (1978) (with the maximum wave height to depth ratio from Nelson, 1987)
and a recently formulated discrete interaction approximation for the triad wave-wave
interactions (Eldeberky and Battjes, 1995).

Fully implicit numerical schemes are used in the SWAN model for propagation
in both geographic space and spectral space (an iterative, forward-marching, four-
sweep technique, Ris et al., 1994). This scheme is unconditionally stable in contrast
with the explicit schemes of conventional spectral wave models which are only
conditionally stable and which require therefore very small time steps in shallow
water (typically 10 s for 100 m resolution in water depth of 10 m where in the
SWAN model the time increment may be as large as 15 min). The formulation is
basically in terms of finite differences on a regular, rectangular grid. This is
inconvenient in regions with highly variable scales such as tidal inlets, tidal flats and
670 COASTAL ENGINEERING 1996

estuaries. Nesting of grids with decreasing resolution is the conventional approach

in such cases but it requires extra computations. A variable resolution grid would
avoid such extra computations, in particular if the grid would conform to the
topography of the region. It would also accommodate the linkage with hydro-
dynamic circulation models which are often formulated on such grids. Such a curvi-
linear approach is implemented in the SWAN model by considering in the numerical
scheme of each spatial grid point, two separate, non-equidistant finite up-wind
differences in each of two orthogonal directions. For the x -direction this is for grid
point i ,j (the grid points are ordered in x , y-space):

8CxN lcxN]tJ -KAn,.,,y KAn„,.-KiV],,,.,

dx AXl A*2

where Ax, = Ax, - (A y, / Ay2) Ax2, AX2 = Ax2-(Ay2/Ayl)Axl. The

increments are Axl=xiJ-xi_1 Jt Ax2=xt j-xiJ_l, Ay, =yu -yt.i j and
A
y2=yi.j-yi.j-i-

PROPAGATION TESTS
In Holthuijsen et al. (1993) the excellent agreement for academic cases is shown
between computed wave propagation and analytical solutions and wave ray solutions
of the linear wave theory without ambient currents. A similar good agreement with
ambient currents added is shown here. For this, consider current-induced refraction
in deep water, of monochromatic, long-crested waves with a (significant) wave
height of 1 m and a (peak) frequency of 0.1 Hz. In the SWAN computation these
waves are simulated with a Gaussian-shaped frequency spectrum with 0.01 Hz
standard deviation and a cos500 (6) -directional distribution. Consider first these
waves propagating from a uniform up-wave boundary over a distance of 4000 m in
a following or opposing current of which the speed increases from 0 m/s to 2 m/s
in the down-wave direction (current direction 0° or 180° direction relative to the
mean wave direction). Only whitecapping is activated in the computations (although
its effect is marginal). The computational results in terms of (significant) wave
height for this current-induced shoaling test are shown in Fig. 1. The agreement for
these cases with linear theory is excellent as the computational errors are less than
0.5% for the significant wave height and less than 0.1° for the mean wave direction
(both differences hardly noticeable in Fig. 1). Consider next the same waves
slanting across a 4000 m wide current field of which the current speed increases
from 0 m/s to 2 m/s across the width and the current direction is constant and
parallel to the straight current field boundaries. The wave direction is either +30°
or -30° relative to the current direction. The results for the significant wave height
and the wave direction are also shown in Fig. 1. The agreement for these cases with
linear theory is as good as in the current-induced shoaling test.

The propagation with the curvi-linear formulation is tested here by comparing

the computational results on a rectangular grid with those on a curvi-linear grid near
 "SWAN" WAVE MODEL 671

Hs(m)

1000 2000 3000 x(m) 1000 2000 3000 x (m)

Fig. 1 Current-induced shoaling and refraction for monochromatic, long-crested

waves for travelling against an opposing current (line a), a following current
(line b) and a slanting current with incident wave direction 0O=3O° (line c)
and 9o=-30° (line d). Left panel: significant wave height Hs (m). Right
panel: mean wave direction 8 (°), ( ) analytical solutions and (+ • •)
results from the SWAN model.

15000

5000 10000 15000 5000 10000 15000

x[m] x[m]
Fig. 2 The propagation of a short-crested wave field around a barrier island;
significant wave height with contour line interval of 0.1 m and mean wave
direction. The depth increases from the shore line over a distance of 4500
m to a constant water depth of 10 m. Left panel: computational results on
a rectangular grid. Right panel: computational results on a curvi-linear grid
(grid points at start of each vector).
672 COASTAL ENGINEERING 1996

a hypothetical barrier island (Fig. 2). All source terms are de-activated in these
computations. The incoming waves are characterized with a JONSWAP spectrum
with a cos4 (0)-directional distribution. The significant wave height and the mean
wave period are 2.0 m and 6.0 s, respectively. The results of the computation on
the curvi-linear grid agrees well with the results on the rectangular grid (Fig. 2).

WIND-WAVE GENERATION IN SHALLOW WATER

The observations of Young and Verhagen (1996) in the shallow Lake George
(Australia) provide an excellent opportunity to test the generation of waves in the
SWAN model in shallow water. These observations were carried out at eight wave
stations in the lake, the bathymetry of which is fairly flat with an average depth of
2m (Fig. 3).

Fig. 3 Bathymetry of Lake George and

the locations of the eight wave stations.
Isolines represent depth contours
(interval 0.5 m).

One case with a relatively high wind

speed of C/10= 15.2 m/s (at station 6 on
02-11-1992 at 16:00 local time) from
northerly directions is chosen to
demonstrate the performance of the
SWAN model. From wind measure-
ments at other stations it was found that
the wind speed varied slightly along the
north-south axis of the lake. This
variation is calculated with the simple
expression of Tayler and Lee (1984)
proposed for these cases by Young and
Verhagen (1996). As the up-wave coast
line was not very well defined in this
case (due to a very gentle bottom slope)
the up-wind boundary condition was
taken to be the observed wave spectrum
at station 1. Fig. 4 shows the good
agreement between the observed
significant wave height and peak frequency (I.R. Young and L. A. Verhagen, private
communication, 1996) and the computational results. The inclusion of depth-induced
wave breaking in modelling such conditions is unusual. Its effect is determined here
by repeating the computation with this process de-activated in the model. The effect
is significant only at the down-wind end of the lake (Fig. 4) and only for these high
wind speeds (computations with wind speeds less than 10 m/s do not show this
effect).
 "SWAN" WAVE MODEL 673

f
p(Hz)

?
t
+
•
* * * • *

5 6 7 8 12 3 4 5 6 7 8
stations stations

Fig. 4 Model results and observations of the significant wave height (left panel) and
peak frequency (right panel) at the observation stations in Lake George for
UW=15.2 m/s. (+) measurements, (o) SWAN results, (v) SWAN results
with depth-induced wave breaking de-activated.

APPLICATION
The performance of the SWAN model is shown here for a field case with wind
and complex bottom and current patterns and 95 % reduction in wave energy. It is
a case in the Friesche Zeegat (the Netherlands) where a system of narrow channels
(10 km length scale) runs from the North Sea into an area of tidal flats (the Wadden
Sea, Fig. 5, the two main channels are about 10 m and 14 m deep). The waves were
measured with one WAVEC pitch-and-roll buoy (station 1) at the deep water
boundary of the area and five Waverider buoys (stations 2 to 6) located along the
two channels (see Fig. 5). The observations that have been selected from the
extensive data set for this verification are a flood current case which occurred on
09-10-1992 at 05:00 UTC (J.G. de Ronde and J.H. Andorka Gal, private
communication, 1996). The reasons for this selection are that (a) at this time
relatively high waves were observed (significant wave height about 2.5 m) which
were generated by a storm in the northern North Sea, (b) during the period of
observation the wind speed and direction were nearly constant, (c) the frequency
spectrum was uni-modal and (d) tidal currents and water levels were measured. The
wind velocity of l/10=11.5 m/s and direction of 320° are assumed to be uniform
over the Friesche Zeegat area. The corresponding currents and water levels in the
area were computed with a shallow water circulation model, resulting in a maximum
current speed of about 1 m/s.

The spectrum at the up-wave boundary in deep water for the computations is
taken equal to the frequency spectrum observed by the WAVEC buoy at station 1.
It is taken uniform along a straight line through the location of the WAVEC buoy
and roughly parallel with the 20 m depth contour. The observed significant wave
height is Hs — 2.24 m and the mean wave period is TmOI = 5.6 s. The observed
overall mean wave direction is 328° (nautical convention) and the overall directional
width of the waves is 31°. The directional distribution is correspondingly
674 COASTAL ENGINEERING 1996

Fig. 5 The bathymetry of the Friesche Zeegat with the locations of the six stations. The
isolines represent depth contours (interval 2 m). All water depths are in m.

Fig. 6 Computed wave height pattern and mean wave direction (denoted with vectors) for
a flood current case in the Friesche Zeegat. The isolines represent wave height
contours (interval 0.2 m).
 "SWAN" WAVE MODEL 675

+
8 +
5. - V V
0 o
4. -
3. - + +
•

2. - o *
0 0

1. -
0 - i - 1 1
.._ , 1
4 5 6
stations

Fig. 7 Computed and observed significant wave height (left panel) and mean wave
period (right panel) at the observation stations for the flood current case in
the Friesche Zeegat: (+) observations, (o) SWAN results, (v) SWAN
results without currents.

approximated with a cos21(0)-directional distribution at all frequencies. The

computed pattern of the significant wave height is shown in Fig. 6. This pattern is
consistent with the pattern of the observations: the wave height gradually decreases
between the deep water boundary and the entrance of the tidal inlet. Due to depth
effects, more wave energy penetrates into the deeper eastern entrance than into the
shallower western entrance of the tidal inlet (roughly 20 % lower wave height near
station 4 than in the other entrance). As the waves penetrate through the tidal gap
into the inlet they refract laterally to the shallower parts of the tidal inlet. They
completely reverse direction behind the two barrier islands. The mean wave period
(not shown here) follows roughly the same pattern. The effect of currents is shown
with results of computations without currents (Fig. 7). This effect is evident but
generally not very important in this case.

The calculated significant wave heights and mean wave periods at the six
observation stations are given in Fig. 7. The agreement with the observations is
fairly reasonably although the model tends to underestimate the mean wave period.

CONCLUSIONS
The SWAN wave model, which has been conceived as a computationally feasible
third-generation spectral wave model for waves in shallow water (including the surf
zone) with ambient currents for engineering consultancy has been implemented. It
accounts for all relevant processes of propagation, generation, dissipation and
nonlinear wave-wave interactions (except diffraction but including depth-induced
wave breaking, triad wave-wave interactions and the effects of currents). Tests so
far in academic conditions and in realistic field conditions show good agreement
between computational results and observations although the present version of the
model tends to slightly underestimate the mean wave period.
676 COASTAL ENGINEERING 1996

The present computation time is 6xl0"5 s per grid point in x- ,y- , a- , 8- space
per iteration on a HP 9000/735 work station (without currents; three times more
than this when currents are included). A typical engineering application (without
currents) of 100 x 100 geographic (water covered) grid points, 24 frequencies and
36 directions with 3 to 5 iterations will therefore take typically between 30 and 45
min computation time. With the expected performance of desk-top computers
presently entering the market this will reduce to less than 15-30 min within the
next few years. The operational goal has therefore been achieved. Future versions
of the SWAN model (presently under development) will be non-stationary,
formulated on a curvi-linear grid, and optionally formulated in spherical coordinates
with a higher-accuracy propagation scheme and possibly include the effects of
diffraction and reflections.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We gratefully acknowledge the generosity of I.R. Young and L.A. Verhagen of
the University of New South Wales in Australia and of J.G. de Ronde, J.H.
Andorka Gal and their colleagues from the Ministry of Transport and Public Works
in the Netherlands in sharing their data from Lake George and the Friesche Zeegat,
respectively. We are equally grateful to B.A.J. Les from the Delft University of
Technology who (at the Ministry of Transport and Public Works) carried out the
calculations for the currents and water levels in the Friesche Zeegat.

REFERENCES
Battjes, J.A. and J.P.F.M. Janssen, 1978, Energy loss and set-up due to breaking of random
waves, 16th Int. Conf. Coastal Engineering, ASCE: 569 - 587
Eldeberky, Y. and J.A. Battjes, 1995, Parameterization of triad interactions in wave energy
models, Coastal Dynamics '95, W.R. Dally and R.B. Zeidler (Eds.), ASCE: 140-148
Holthuijsen, L.H., N. Booij and R.C. Ris, 1993, A spectral wave model for the coastal
zone, 2nd International Symposium on Ocean Wave Measurement and Analysis, New
Orleans, Louisiana, July 25-28, 1993, New York, pp. 630-641
Komen, G.J., L. Cavaleri, M, Donelan, K. Hasselmann, S. Hasselmann and P.A.E.M.
Janssen, 1994, Dynamics and Modelling of Ocean Waves, Cambr. Univ. Press, 532 p.
Nelson, R.C, 1987, Design wave heights on very mild slopes, Civil Eng. Trans., Inst.
Eng. Aust., 29, 157-161
Ris, R.C, L.H. Holthuijsen and N. Booij, 1994, A spectral model for waves in the near
shore zone, 24th Int. Conf. Coastal Engng, Kobe, Oct. 1994, pp. 68-78
WAMDI group: S. Hasselmann, K. Hasselmann, E. Bauer, P.A.E.M. Janssen, G.J.
Komen, L. Bertotti, P. Lionello, A. Guillaume, V.C. Cardone, J.A. Greenwood, M.
Reistad, L. Zambresky and J.A. Ewing, 1988, The WAM model - a third generation
ocean wave prediction model, J. Phys. Oceanogr., Vol. 18: 1775-1810
Young,I.R. and L.A. Verhagen, 1996: The growth of fetch limited waves in water of finite
depth. Part I: Total Energy and peak frequency, Coastal Engineering, Vol. 29, pp. 47-
78
Tayler, P.A. and R.J. Lee, 1984: Simple guidelines for estimating wind speed variations
due to small-scale topographic features, Climatol. Bull., 18, 3-32

View publication stats