Abstract
Understanding the wave climate changes in the Pacific region is critical for coastal management and to the implementation of climate change adaptation. However, little is known about waves and how reef hydrodynamics is affecting the reef coast of Pacific islands. The Changing Waves and Coast in the Pacific (WACOP) project is collecting baseline information and using the latest research tools to assess the wave climate, its variability, improve the understanding of reef hydrodynamics and morphology as well as predict how these will change with the climate. The project aim is to better understand coastal erosion and inundations and to assess the potential for wave energy harvesting.
The data presented in this document analyses the oceanographic and topoggraphic data recorded during the WACOP project on Fatato Island in Funafuti, Tuvalu. The data shows that the hydrodynamics of the fringing reef in Fatato is controlled by both short waves and infragravity waves, both modulated by the tide. The data presented in this document has been used to calibrate and validate a coastal inundation model that was used to simulate how wave inundation hazard will increase with sea level rise (Beetham et al. 2015).