Abolhassan Razminia

The 18-year (2000e2017) spatio-temporal distribution of the annual, seasonal and monthly mean wave energy based on the significant height of combined wind waves and swell, mean wave direction and energy wave period are presented using the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) ERA5 reanalysis dataset. Moreover, a new wave energy assessment equation for both shallow and deep waters is derived, which improves the accuracy of the wave energy estimation for various water depths, especially for nearshore shallow water areas. Our detailed analysis results depict that the central parts of the region have a higher level of wave energy potential, especially during the winter, when it is affected by dominant winter-time Shamal wind. The prevailing direction of waves is consistently northwest. The 18-year annual mean results show significant wave heights are found mostly less than 1 m, with annual mean energy densities reaching up to 1.2 kW/m in offshore parts. The wave energy is a higher in the winter and diminishes during spring and summer to reach their lowest values in the fall. Generally, the most and the least abundant wave energy occur in February and September, respectively. The wave energy is mainly arisen due to the energy periods between 2 and 6 s and significant wave heights between 0.5 and 1 m.