Estimation of Wave Energy from Wind Velocity

The aim of this paper is to report on a possible correlation between the Lévy index for wind velocity and the mean Energy Density of sea surface waves in the same location. The result is based on data obtained from 6 buoys located around the coast of Ireland and maintained by the Marine Institute of Ireland and a further 144 buoys located at various locations off the coast of the United States of America and maintained by the National Data Buoy Centre. These buoys provide historical data on the wind velocity, wave height and wave period as well as other data on an hourly interval. Using this data, we consider the relationship between a stochastic model for the time variations in wave height that in turn, is based on a non-Gaussian model for the wind force characterised by the Lévy index. The results presented in this paper indicate the possibility of developing a method of estimating the energy and power densities of sea waves from knowledge of the wind velocity alone.