LA County Coastal Wave Prediction
Model Study

The Los Angeles (LA) County Wave Model Study is a research project designed to develop and validate a nearshore wave prediction model for the LA coastline that provides wave input conditions to surfzone and beach process models. This project is part of the LA County Shoreline Special Study, sponsored jointly by the Army Corps of Engineers, the State of California and LA County, and is being led by scientists at the University of California's Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

The Coastal Data Information Program (CDIP) at Scripps Institution of Oceanography has developed a measurement-based methodology to predict regional nearshore (nominally 8-10m depth) wave conditions along the California coastline. The method uses a linear wave propagation model in combination with strategically placed directional wave buoys. CDIP uses this scheme in Southern California to predict swell heights (wave periods greater than 8 seconds) using an unsheltered, deep water buoy west of Point Conception, and these predictions have undergone extensive validation. CDIP is presently expanding its predictions to include nearshore wave direction and shorter-period, locally-generated seas by deploying additional "local" buoys along the edge of the continental shelf near the coast.

CDIP's sea and swell modeling and measurement capabilities have already been expanded to include LA County. The directional buoy station at Point Dume (CDIP Station 102) is poistioned on the edge of the continental shelf offshore of the LA-Ventura County line. This buoy is used in tandem with the CDIP buoy station off Santa Monica (CDIP Station 028) to monitor the incident local seas and provide the necessary model input to predict sea and swell along the entire LA County coast. In addition, a "roving station", consisting of a CDIP directional buoy in 20m depth, is being deployed at locations throughout the County to validate the nearshore predictions.
Links: CDIP homepage Current buoy readings