Evaluation of Ice Dissipation Parameterizations in Spectral Ocean Wave Model WAVEWATCH III: An Intercomparison Analysis

Ocean wave activity in polar seas is intensifying, so that modeling waves in ice-covered oceans accurately is critical for navigational safety and forecasting the response of the declining sea ice. WAVEWATCH III (WW3) has emerged as the leading spectral wave model for high-latitude regions in recent years, having incorporated an extensive suite of 14 ice-induced wave-damping parameterizations. A set of WW3 hindcast simulations of the wave event observed during the 2017 PIPERS wave buoy deployment in the Ross Sea is conducted to assess the performance of all ice-damping parameterizations and identify consistent biases. Colocated spectra obtained from each WW3 hindcast and buoy measurements are analyzed and compared in relation to wave and ice conditions. It is found that 9 of the 14 parameterizations are able to reproduce large wave events accurately for lower ice concentrations. WW3 consistently overestimates significant wave height and underestimates the mean wave period at high ice concentrations. Our findings suggest WW3 does not sufficiently damp the mid- to high-frequency tail of the wave spectrum in the wave and ice conditions encountered during the PIPERS deployment.