This dataset contains 23 variables from the ERA40 WAVE model on an equally spaced global 1.5 degree latitude-longitude grid . All variables are reported 4x a day.

There has been a problem with the wave analysis since the introduction of ERS data at the start of 1991. The size of waves of low magnitude (less than 1 metre) may be too high and the corresponding mean periods too high. The problem is largely confined to enclosed or semi-enclosed seas such as the Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea, Baltic Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and the East China Sea.

The ECMWF Re-Analysis (ERA40) is a global atmospheric analysis of many conventional observations and satellite data streams for the period Sept,1957- Aug,2002. There are numerous data products that are separated into dataset series based on resolution, vertical coordinate reference, and likely research applications. Descriptions of the series organization and direct links to information about all ERA40 products are available.

The ERA-Interim data from ECMWF is an update to the ERA-40 project. The ERA-Interim data starts in 1989 and has a higher horizontal resolution (T255, N128 nominally 0.703125 degrees) than the ERA-40 data (T159, N80 nominally 1.125 degrees). ERA-Interim is based on a more current model than ERA-40 and uses 4-D VAR (as apposed to 3-D VAR in ERA-40). ECMWF will continue to run the ERA-Interim model in near real time thru at least 2010, and possibly longer. This data is available in ds627.0.