General characteristics of surface waves in Iraq marine water, Northwest of Arabian Gulf

Understanding wave characteristics is crucial for coastal activities, coastal infrastructure, navigation safety, and coastline management policies. Although wave characteristics in several regions of the Arabian Gulf are relatively studied, until now, wave features in Iraq marine water are not well recognized. In this study, we analyzed the wave parameters measured off Iraq marine water, northwest coast of the Arabian Gulf during 2017–2021 to identify the features associated with different wind systems. However, the results indicated that the averages of wind speed are higher in summer than in winter. The peak wind speeds are generally due to the northwest wind, and the maximum wind speed recorded during the study period reaches 19.9 m/s. Additionally, the results revealed that wave heights in summer are generally lower than that in winter. The highest significant and maximum wave heights during the study period reach 0.78 and 1.95 m, respectively. The highest wave heights were recorded during the southeast wind, although its speed is generally lower than the northwest wind. This mainly could be attributed to a large fetch available for the southeast wind relative to a limited fetch available to the northwest wind. Waves with long periods were mainly recognized during winter, spring, and fall seasons. The maximum significant wave period and zero-crossing wave period reach 6.84 and 5.4 s, respectively. The results obtained could be beneficial for overall coastal and near shore activities in the region.