Summary
As part of ESA's WAPOSAL (Wave Power & Satellite Altimetry) project, this study examines the wave energy potential in the Mediterranean Sea. We used the OCRE-EO high-resolution sea-state data from two satellite altimetry missions—Sentinel-3 A/B and CryoSat-2—reprocessed with the advanced SAMOSA+ coastal retracker. The enhanced resolution of the OCRE-EO data, which features an along-track resolution of approximately 300 meters, enables more precise estimates of the wave power density in coastal areas. We determined the wave periods necessary for accurate wave power estimation using satellite altimetry data. A novel mapping of the wave energy resource is presented, which can facilitate a posteriori analysis of locations with high wave power density. Furthermore, it is reported that the best places exhibit a positive trend and intermediate variability in the wave resource. Additionally, the influence of ocean currents on wave power density was analyzed, revealing a direct correlation under certain environmental conditions. The multi-year averaged wave power density revealed that the highest levels are found between the Balearic Islands (Spain) and Sardinia (Italy), reaching values of up to 14 kW/m. Along the African coast, the highest wave power density of 9.2 kW/m was found in Tunisia and Algeria. On a seasonal scale, high variability was observed throughout the different seasons of the year, with maximum values in the basin ranging from 15 to 25 kW/m in winter. The obtained results on wave energy potential at regional and local scales enable the identification of climate patterns, the quantification of wave resource availability, and the creation of the WAPOSAL database.
Brief biography
Sonia is a dedicated Earth Sciences scientist with over 20 years of experience in wind waves. She has been collaborating with different international projects (The International Space Science Institute (ISSI), MULTIWAVE Rogue Waves, SIHROCO, etc.), and as a PI of some European Projects funded by the European Commission (OCRE-EO) and the European Space Agency (WAPOSAL). She was awarded the Juan de la Cierva and the Torres Quevedo grants, as well as a grant from the Portuguese Science Foundation (FCT). Moreover, she worked at the University College Dublin, Instituto Superior Técnico de Lisboa, University College of Aalesund, NTNU, Norway, IMEDEA, UPC in Spain, and the Federal University of Rio Grande, Brazil. She has obtained her master’s degree in Physical Oceanography from CICESE in Mexico and her PhD from the University of Lisbon, Portugal. In recent years, she has focused her research on extreme waves, wave-current interactions, remote sensing, ocean wave modeling, cyclones, and renewable energy. She developed a method to estimate the wave power resources using satellite altimetry data and wave buoys in the coastal zones. She was a Visiting Scientist at the European Space Agency (ESA) in 2023, at ESA-ESRIN, in the Earth Observation Science, Applications, and Climate Department, where she worked on assessing wave power using high-resolution altimetry products.