Comparison and validation of physical wave parameterizations in spectral wave models

- The best 4 spectral wave parameterizations have been compared to satellites and buoys.
- Higher order spectral moments and wave partitions are rigorously validated.
- All models describe the low-order wave moments; some perform better for higher ones.
- The models are sensitive to the far-field swell and have similar spatial distribution.
- The directional spread within the wave spectra performs poorly and needs improvement.

Recent developments in the physical parameterizations available in spectral wave models have already been validated, but there is little information on their relative performance especially with focus on the higher order spectral moments and wave partitions. This study concentrates on documenting their strengths and limitations using satellite measurements, buoy spectra, and a comparison between the different models. It is confirmed that all models perform well in terms of significant wave heights; however higher-order moments have larger errors. The partition wave quantities perform well in terms of direction and frequency but the magnitude and directional spread typically have larger discrepancies. The high-frequency tail is examined through the mean square slope using satellites and buoys. From this analysis it is clear that some models behave better than the others, suggesting their parameterizations match the physical processes reasonably well. However none of the models are entirely satisfactory, pointing to poorly constrained parameterizations or missing physical processes. The major space-time differences between the models are related to the swell field which stresses the importance of describing its evolution. An example swell field confirms the wave heights can be notably different between model configurations while the directional distributions remain similar. It is clear that all models have difficulty describing the directional spread. Therefore, knowledge of the source term directional distributions is paramount to improve the wave model physics in the future.