Validation of global wind wave hindcasts using ERA5, MERRA2, ERA-Interim and CFSRv2 reanalyzes

Abstract

Abstract Four global wind wave hindcasts based on ERA5, MERRA2, ERA-I and CFSR reanalyses and spectral wave model WAVEWATCH III for the period from 1980 to 2017 have been validated against satellite altimetry and NDBC buoys for 1 year. Hindcast based on newly released ECMWF reanalysis ERA5 demonstrated the best agreement with both satellite altimetery (with normalized bias being up to 5%, and RMSE up to 0.5 m) and buoy measurements, including values of upper percentiles. In general, all hindcasts show good correspondence with the observational data and thus can be used in further wind wave climate studies.