What wave information do we show?

To explain this, we must first briefly explain meteorological models and how we work with them.

What exactly is a meteorological model?

A meteorological model is a set of equations that allow us to estimate the future evolution of meteorological conditions for a given set of points.

To do this, the models simplify the atmosphere to a three-dimensional mesh with a finite number of nodes, which are the specific points for which the equations are solved.

Source: Noaa

From these nodes of the mesh, we obtain the data of the forecasts, and as we can easily imagine, these nodes do not correspond exactly to the point on the beach for which we want to know the wave. This is where we work manually and almost artistically, transferring the data from the nearest node to the beach (which can be kilometers away) by studying what will actually happen on the beach. We mainly work with the swell directions and the orientation of each point.

Returning to the models, we highlight that the configuration of this three-dimensional mesh is the main difference between them. Obviously, a greater number of nodes will allow predictions with greater spatial detail, at the cost of greater complexity and longer execution time.

By default, the Total Sea data that we show in the application is from the most reliable model for that point with the relevant adjustments for the beach.

In summary, the purpose of this functionality is for the user to compare the values given by the forecast models for the point closest to the beach and the changes we make when moving it to the relevant point. There are times when these values will be the same, while at other times the differences can be considerably large. The distance of the node to the beach or the swell orientations relative to the beach are the main reasons that affect whether these differences are greater or smaller.