FVCOM simulated significant wave height and peak period for Barataria Bay and adjacent Louisiana-Texas continental shelf from 2010-04-01 to 2010-06-30

The Finite Volume Coastal Ocean Model (FVCOM) and its SWAVE module were applied over the northern Gulf of Mexico continental shelf that includes Barataria Bay to simulate three-dimensional circulation patterns driven by river and river diversion, tides, and winds, as well as wave action density and its integral wave parameters (e.g., significant wave height and peak period). The numerical model mesh covers a much larger computational domain which extends longitudinally from Mobile Bay, Alabama to the west of Galveston Bay, Texas and offshore to ~ 300 – 1000 m isobaths over the Alabama-Mississippi-Louisiana-Texas continental shelf and slope. Simulated wave variable is the wave action density. However, since it is a five-dimensional array and huge in disk size, the wave action density is not directly output to an external file. Instead, integral wave parameters, such as significant wave height, peak wave period, and mean wave direction, are saved in the NetCDF file. The FVCOM-SWAVE simulation period is from 1 April to 30 June 2010. Output file is in NetCDF (Network Common Data Form) format, which is a set of software libraries and self-describing, machine-independent data formats that support the creation, access, and sharing of array-oriented scientific data. Two sets of wave data are submitted: one is from wave-only simulation, the other is from coupled wave-current simulation. These model results are located in two separate directories. Forcing for this dataset are publicly available. For wind forcing, spatially variable 3-hourly wind data were downloaded from NOAA National Centers for Environmental Prediction North American Regional Reanalysis (NARR) products (http://nomads.ncdc.noaa.gov/data/narr/). The u- and v-wind components at 10-m height were interpolated to the FVCOM grid using distance-square-weighted interpolation algorithm with two data points in each quadrant. The data were then written in FVCOM compatible format in BB_wnd.nc and is included in this dataset. Tidal forcings for this model run acquired from observed 6-minute-interval time series of sea surface elevation at four NWLON stations - Dauphin Island (station id = 8735180), Galveston Pier 21 (station id = 8771450), Southwest Pass (station id = 8760922), and Freeport (station is = 8772447) were downloaded from NOAA tides and currents website (https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/). These values were extrapolated to obtain the surface elevation open boundary conditions. The data were then written in FVCOM compatible format in julian_obc.nc and is included in this dataset. River forcings for this model run acquired from 15-min discharge measurements measured at USGS stations: Belle Chasse (station id = 07374525) for Mississippi River, at Morgan City (station id = 07381600) for Atchafalaya River main channel, and at Calumet (station id = 07381590) for Wax Lake Outlet, as well as the Davis Pond Diversion, were downloaded from USGS websites. These values are specified to 23 nodes of the mesh that represent various river points. The data were then written in FVCOM compatible format in River_data.nc and is included in this dataset. Other data included are - BB_cor.dat containing grid point latitude and longitude in decimal degrees, BB_dep.dat containing grid point depth in meters, BB_obc.dat containing open boundary grid point index, BB_spg.dat containing the sponge layer parameter used, Initfile.nc is initial condition file, Sigma.dat the sigma layers used in model, BB_nest201004_06.nc, the wave open boundary condition file, and the BB_grd.dat, the FVCOM mesh file.