Evaluation of the Performance of a Simple Fetch-Based Wave Model in FVCOM in theWadden Sea of the North Sea for the Use in Long-Term Biogeochemical Integrations

In order to accurately model biogeochemical processes, especially primary production, the prevailing light condition within the water column is very important. In coastal waters, suspended particles can have a large impact on the light field, which itself can be influenced by wave dynamics. Therefore, using a proper wave model is essential to simulate these processes in the ocean and coastal waters. Using a simple wave model, such as a simple fetch-based parameterization, could be very efficient in long-term simulations and climate-relevant time periods to capture a proper light field and particle resuspension that are necessary to predict phytoplankton dynamics. However, they are limited in their ability to model all wave phenomena, such as wave refraction and non-linear wave-wave interactions (e.g. quadruplet and triad interaction), which could be important, especially in shallow coastal waters. Therefore, it is crucial to evaluate the performance of simple wave models against more sophisticated models, such as third-generation surface-gravity wave models, and measurements in coastal waters. To achieve this goal, a simple fetch-based wave model is implemented into the Finite Volume Community Ocean Model (FVCOM) on an unstructured grid to simulate the North Sea region with a special focus on the shallow area of the Wadden Sea, where suspended material has a particular effect on primary production. A comparison of the wave's hydrodynamic characteristics obtained from this simple wave model against measurements and publicly available model data will be done to evaluate the performance of this simple wave model at hand.