Abstract
The accurate estimation of extreme conditions, such as 100-yr return levels of significant wave height is an important aspect in the design of marine energy converters, offshore and coastal structures. This study investigates the different approaches for the estimation of extreme waves that have been applied in the past, and determines the 100-yr return levels using the high resolution ERA-Interim dataset produced by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). It is demonstrated in the paper that fitting a Generalized Pareto Distribution to all exceedances over a high threshold is the most suitable approach. The estimates thus obtained are compared with previously computed estimates for buoys and offshore platforms. The effect of duration of data on the estimates is also investigated. Finally, a 100-yr return level map for the North Atlantic region is presented.