AUSWAVE Data
This web site provides an overview of AUSWAVE forecast data, made available by the Bureau of Meteorology. The AUSWAVE wave model is the Bureau's implementation of the third-generation wind-wave modelling framework WAVEWATCH III® (WW3) version 6.07. The model configuration includes observation-based wave physics ST6 for improved parameterisation of wind input and swell dissipation. The model is global and features a multiple-resolution spherical-multiple cell grid at a 12 km resolution, with refinement around islands and shelves with water depth of less than 300 metres at about 6 km. Wave model output fields are remapped to a regular latitude-longitude grid with a base resolution of 12km for the global domain (G4). The regional domain (R4) is mapped to a 6km grid. AUSWAVE-G uses the GEBCO 2020 (British Oceanographic Data Centre) gridded bathymetry data. Bathymetric depths were evaluated against measured depths derived from wave buoy deployments around the Australian coastline. The APS4 upgrade did not change the wave model grid and underlying bathymetry. For more information about the wave model grid, please refer to Zieger and Greenslade (2021).
The Bureau has upgraded its collective suite of numerical prediction models to the Australian Parallel Suite APS4. The global numerical weather prediction system's ACCESS-G4 wind vectors and OceanMaps 4.1i surface currents provide dynamic boundary conditions to the wave model. The characteristics of the surface winds in APS4 led to the development of a statistical wind correction that superseded the performance of the APS3 version. Initial verification and comparisons with the legacy wave model and reanalysis indicate improvement across several metrics (Zieger 2025).
References
Zieger S and Greenslade D (2021) "A multiple-resolution global wave model - AUSWAVE-G3", Bureau Research Report No 51, Bureau of Meteorology, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 74pp.,http://www.bom.gov.au/research/publications/researchreports/BRR-051.pdf.
Zieger S (2025) "The Australian wave forecast system with statistical wind correction", Journal of Southern Hemisphere Earth Systems Science, ES25010. Available online https://www.publish.csiro.au/ES/ES25010
Available AUSWAVE-based models
The following table describes the current AUSWAVE model domain and resolution.
| Model | Domain | Resolution |
|---|---|---|
| AUSWAVE-G4 | Global Domain (75°S-75°N, 0°E-359°E) | 0.125° |
| AUSWAVE-G4-R4 | Regional Domain (60°S-12°N, 69°E-180°E) | 0.0625° |
AUSWAVE forecast products
A range of AUSWAVE forecast products have been made available via FTP for registered users. Information about these products is available in the Bureau of Meteorology AUSWAVE gridded data user guide and the Bureau of Meteorology AUSWAVE spectral data user guide.
For each forecast-hour the AUSWAVE model outputs various mean wave parameters defined on two-dimensional grids. The grid structure is evenly spaced latitude/longitude. As such the products contain a range of gridded field values valid for a particular model timestep.
Notes on Specific Wave Data File-Formats
Data files are made available in two formats, GRIB2 and NetCDF4. AUSWAVE data follows standard WMO GRIB2 conventions and all the metadata required to identify fields is in the GRIB2 file headers and complies with WMO standard tables which can be found at the first two sections of the ACCESS NWP data description. One exception is for the secondary swell fields that use a Bureau local extension to the level type of the first fixed surface (following the practice adopted by NCAR). scaledValueOfFirstFixedSurface is set to 1 for primary swell fields and 2 for secondary swell fields. For technical notes about the NetCDF4 encoding of AUSWAVE data, please refer to the NetCDF format notes.
Popular Output Metadata
The following table lists relevant identifying metadata attribute values for each popular AUSWAVE field. Here "G2 d.c.n." table column refers to a field's GRIB2 'discipline'.'parameterCategory'.'parameterNumber'. typeOfFirstFixedSurface (i.e. Type) and scaledValueOfFirstFixedSurface (i.e. Value) are used to identify primary swell, secondary swell and tertiary swell fields.i"NetCDF" is the NetCDF variable name used for the corresponding field
| G2 d.c.n | Type | Value | Parameter | NetCDF var | Steps | Units | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.2.2 | 103 | 10 | 203 | zonal_wnd | All | m/s | 10m zonal wind |
| 0.2.3 | 103 | 10 | 204 | merid_wnd | All | m/s | 10m meridional wind |
| 10.0.3 | 1 | 1 | 205 | sig_wav_ht | All | m | Significant height of combined wind waves and swell |
| 10.0.11 | 1 | 1 | 206 | pk_wav_per | All | sec | *Peak wave period (G2:Primary wave period) |
| 10.0.10 | 1 | 1 | 207 | pk_wav_dir | All | Degrees | *Peak wave direction (G2:Primary wave direction) |
| 10.0.5 | 1 | 1 | 208 | sig_ht_wnd_sea | All | m | Significant height of wind waves |
| 10.0.8 | 241 | 1 | 209 | sig_ht_sw1 | All | m | Significant height of primary swell |
| 10.0.8 | 241 | 2 | 210 | sig_ht_sw2 | All | m | Significant height of secondary swell |
| 10.0.8 | 241 | 3 | 222 | sig_ht_sw3 | All | m | Significant height of tertiary swell |
| 10.0.6 | 1 | 1 | 211 | pk_per_wnd_sea | All | sec | *Peak period of wind waves (G2: Mean period of wind waves) |
| 10.0.9 | 241 | 1 | 212 | pk_per_sw1 | All | sec | *Peak period of primary swell (G2: Mean period of primary swell) |
| 10.0.9 | 241 | 2 | 213 | pk_per_sw2 | All | sec | *Peak period of secondary swell (G2: Mean period of secondary swell) |
| 10.0.9 | 241 | 3 | 223 | pk_per_sw3 | All | sec | *Peak period of tertiary swell (G2: Mean period of tertiary swell) |
| 10.0.4 | 1 | 1 | 214 | mn_dir_wnd_sea | All | Degrees | Direction of wind waves |
| 10.0.7 | 241 | 1 | 215 | mn_dir_sw1 | All | Degrees | Direction of primary swell waves |
| 10.0.7 | 241 | 2 | 216 | mn_dir_sw2 | All | Degrees | Direction of secondary swell waves |
| 10.0.7 | 241 | 3 | 224 | mn_dir_sw3 | All | Degrees | Direction of tertiary swell waves |
| 10.0.15 | 1 | 1 | 217 | mn_wav_per | All | sec | Mean wave period |
| 10.0.14 | 1 | 1 | 218 | mn_wav_per | All | Degrees | Mean wave direction |
| 10.0.195 | 1 | 1 | 221 | wav_engy_flux | All | W m-1 | Wave energy flux |
Answers to frequently asked questions about AUSWAVE forecast data
- The aim of spectral partitioning is to separate the wave spectrum into spectral components to represent distinct wave systems, such as wind sea and swell. The partitioning scheme within AUSWAVE is capable of separating the wave spectrum into a single wind sea component and multiple swell components. If no identified partition meets a threshold wind sea fraction at a given grid point, no wind sea will be present at that grid point. Likewise, if all the energy is assigned to wind sea, there will be no energy for the swell components. These 'holes' in the grid are consistent with the physical processes being described by the partitioning. They do not represent missing values.
Getting help and providing feedback
If you have a query about any information presented here or require further information or assistance about AUSWAVE products please contact the Bureau's Registered User Services section.