Assessments of wave energy resources around Japan

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25340131
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Design and evaluation of sustainable and environmental conscious system
• Research Institution: Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology
• Principal Investigator: SASAKI Wataru 国立研究開発法人海洋研究開発機構, 地球情報基盤センター, 研究技術専任スタッフ (30462500)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 波力エネルギー / 再生可能エネルギー / リソースアセスメント / 不確実性 / 波候 / 風候

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We estimated wave energy resources around Japan using in-situ wave data, wave and atmospheric reanalyses data, and numerical wave model. In the assessments of wave energy resources, we estimated the uncertainty of wave energy due to the difference in near-surface wind forcing. We also investigated the changes in the Pacific wave climate since the mid-1990s. We found that changes in the Pacific wave cliamte are attributable to recently strengthened trade winds and La Nina-like conditions in the tropical Pacific. Furthermore, we investigated the impact of assimilating satellite data into atmospheric reanalyses on trends in ocean surface winds and waves. We found that the satellite data assimilation impacts the long-term trend of wave energy significantly.

Free Research Field

海洋物理、気候システム