Since the wind speed Uz at height z m above the sea surface can be related to the wind speed Uw at 10 m above

the sea surface by the expression Uz = Uw (z/10)1/7 it can be seen that U19.5 = 22.66 is equivalent to U10 = 20.6 so the same effective wind speed has been used to obtain both spectra. Comparison of the two figures shows that the spectral peak frequency of 0.190 Hz in Figure 7 has moved down to 0.0604 Hz in Figure 8 and that, as expected in a growth situation, the amount of wave energy in Figure 8, i.e. the area under the spectrum, is considerably greater than the energy in Figure 7. It can also be shown that for f = 0.190 Hz the spectral density for the equilibrium, i.e. fully developed, spectrum is approximately half the value of the spectral density of the fetch-limited spectrum. These results are consistent with the fetch-limited data which indicated that interactions amongst the waves cause a migration of the spectral peak towards low frequencies with increasing fetch as well as giving a final equilibrium spectral density, for frequencies to the right of the spectral peak, of approximately half of the peak spectral density reached at shorter fetches. This latter effect, known as overshoot, has been observed in other empirical data at shorter fetches. Since the data used to obtain the fetch-limited spectrum was collected for fetches of up to 160 km the JONSWAP study was unable to verify whether the fully developed spectrum, where energy input from the wind is exactly balanced by energy losses, is achieved or whether the wave height can go on increasing with interactions amongst the waves causing a further migration of the spectral peak to even lower frequencies. In the absence of any better information it is common practice, at present, to use the Pierson Moskowitz spectrum for all those cases where the JONSWAP spectrum predicts a lower spectral peak frequency than the Pierson Moskowitz spectrum, i.e. where gLF/Uw 2 > 2.92 104. For shorter fetches than this, the JONSWAP spectrum is probably the most reliable prediction for the one-dimensional spectrum because it is based on the most comprehensive data obtained for fetch-limited situations. However, care is required in making predictions for fetches and wind speeds that fall just short of producing a fully developed sea state since the Hs value obtained from the JONSWAP spectrum will exceed that obtained from the fully developed spectrum. This difficulty may be overcome by the use of Figure 9 in which the contours of Hs have been adjusted to give a smooth transition between the two spectra. 22.3 Wave decay and swell. In the waters around the British Isles the most severe wave conditions are usually associated with storm waves and the wave forecasting techniques already described can

be used to predict such conditions. In some situations, however, swell waves from distant storms are one of the more important features to be taken into account in the design of inshore structures. Because these waves have propagated out of their region of generation, the wave energy has subsequently spread over a large area making the waves lower in height and longer crested than storm waves. To be able to predict the heights and periods of these waves it is necessary to use published data on the decay of waves when they leave the generation region, in conjunction with the wave conditions at the end of the fetch [16]. However, knowledge of the wind conditions in the distant storm centre is rarely available so this method of prediction is not often used. In such situations it is preferable to install a wave recorder at the site of interest to obtain sufficient data so that an estimate of the extreme wave conditions can be made. If time does not permit the installation of a wave recorder and the subsequent analysis of the data, then reference may be made to published statistical surveys of a number of years of visual wave observations made by shipping, in which wave heights, periods and directions are usually available for each month of the year and for the whole world [22]. Although individual observations taken by eye from a ship may be unreliable it is generally accepted that predictions based on a large number of observations made by different people does result in a useful estimate of wave conditions. These data will include storm waves as well as swell and should be used to check predictions of wave conditions based on wind data. 22.4 Extrapolation of offshore wave data. Having obtained offshore wave data from one or a number of the above methods it will be necessary to extrapolate these data to obtain extreme conditions appropriate to the design requirements. Extrapolation techniques are described in clause 27.