ERDC/CHL CHETN-I-64
September 2001
required to prepare input files and process results. The steps required to run STWAVE in SMS
are:
a. Build Cartesian grid. Developing an STWAVE grid in SMS requires digital bathymetry
data. These data can come from digitized nautical charts or hydrographic surveys.
Within SMS, bathymetry data sets can be merged, coordinate systems can be converted
(e.g., bathymetry data can be converted from geographic to state plane), and images can
be overlaid (e.g., aerial photos, nautical charts, or plots of structure locations). Once
bathymetry is imported into SMS, the STWAVE grid is defined either graphically or by
specifying the origin, orientation, and size of the grid. Plotting contours of the
bathymetry can identify errors in bathymetry data. Corrections to the bathymetry can be
easily made within SMS. An example STWAVE bathymetry grid overlaid on an aerial
photograph within SMS is shown in Figure 2.
b. Generate input wave spectra. SMS can generate STWAVE input spectra based on the
parameters of significant wave height, peak period, and mean direction (Bouws et al.
1985). Spectral peakedness and directional spread may be specified or defaults can be
applied. One-dimensional and two-dimensional plots of the spectra are provided in SMS.
c. Select output grid cells. Grid cells for output of directional spectra can be defined
graphically or positioned by geographic coordinates.
output of a circulation model. The circulation model grid and current fields are required
as input. Interpolation is possible in time as well as space.
e. Specify model parameters. Model control parameters (input and output options) are
specified through a dialog box in SMS.
f. Run STWAVE. STWAVE can be executed through SMS or run in a DOS window on a
Windows PC. In DOS, the command to run the model is stwave32.exe project.sim
where stwave32.exe is the executable file name and project.sim is a file that lists the
input and output file names. The format for project.sim is given by Smith, Sherlock, and
Resio (2001).
g. Visualize simulation output. One of the most useful aspects of SMS is the visualization
capability. Model outputs should be visualized to verify that the model is running
correctly and to identify any problems. SMS can provide color contour plots of
significant wave height, period, and direction; current magnitude; and two-dimensional
spectra at the selected grid cells. Vector plots of wave direction and current direction can
be overlaid on the color contour plots. Another plotting capability is x-y plots of wave
parameters along a user-defined arc, e.g., a cross section through a channel or a cross-
shore profile.
GETTING STWAVE: The most recent STWAVE executable (Version 3.3, 10/13/2001),
sample input files, and example applications are available on the CHL Web page at:
7
Previous Page
