Current Methods for Meteorological and Marine Forecasting for the Assistance of Navigation and Shipping Operations

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to illustrate a methodology for the enhancement of meteorological marine forecasts tailored to the needs of navigation. The study consists of two parts: (1) Theoretical background. Introduction to numerical models for weather forecasting used by meteorological centres. A review of the most reliable equations for prediction of intensity and direction of wind and sea state. In particular, reference is made to the tables for wind forecasting developed by R. Mayençon and A. Pezzoli and the equations for prediction of sea state obtained by K. Haselman and D. J. T. Carter in light of the JONSWAP experiment. (2) Practical application. Application of the methodology to a real-world example: a weather forecast elaborated by the Meteohydrological Laboratory at Dipartimento d'Idraulica Trasporti ed Infrastrutture Civili (DITIC) of the Polytechnic of Turin. The forecast was requested by the Consorzio Prada Challenge 2000 as a meteorological support for the training they held in the Tyrrhenian Sea for the next America's Cup series.