INDUSTRY READY FOR GULF OF ALASKA

Petroleum industry initiated a Group Oceanographic Study, Gulf of Alaska (GOSGA) in 1967 to develop an estimate of the wave climatology using a hindcasting technique. The study covered quite a large area and took 30 months to complete. Five years and 30 storms were selected as representing normal years and extreme events through a process of review and analysis of all past weather data for the Northwest Pacific. Hindcasts of these five years were made along with one year of wave measurement off Yakutat. In addition to that, in order to directly verify, supplement, or (if necessary) replace the GOSGA hindcasts the industry commenced the Gulf of Alaska Wave and Wind Measurement Program (GAWWMP) in March, 1974. To date, GAWWMP has experienced an exceptionally high recovery of excellent quality data--91% for waves and 85% for winds. Also in order to determine how well the hindcast model used in the GOSGA program models the actual wave climate industry initiated the Wave Hindcast Evaluation Program (WHEP) in 1975. Using data acquired by GAWWMP, WHEP has provided a statistical comparison of the new observed data with hindcast data for the same seasons. Future plans include the launching of a satellite, SEASAT-A, in 1978 as part of NASA's Earth and Ocean Physics Application Program (EOPAP).

• Corporate Authors:

  Petroleum Engineer Publishing Company

  Box 1589
  Dallas, TX  United States  75221
• Authors:
  • McLead, W R
• Publication Date: 1976-5

Media Info

• Pagination: 6 p.
• Serial:
  • Petroleum Engineer
  • Volume: 48
  • Issue Number: 6
  • Publisher: Petroleum Engineer Publishing Company

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Climatology; Offshore platforms; Oil exploration; Safety; Wave measurement; Waves; Weather forecasting
• Old TRIS Terms: Hindcasting; Platform safety; Wave climatology
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Marine Transportation; Operations and Traffic Management; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00149755
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Engineering Index
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Apr 13 1977 12:00AM