Determination of Significant Wave Height Offshore of the Federal Territory of Labuan (Malaysia) Using Generalized Pareto Distribution Method

Abstract

Probabilistic evaluation of surface waves was undertaken to estimate extreme wave heights for several return periods to use them in coastal and offshore constructions in the Labuan region. Generalized Pareto distribution (GPD), which is the standard practice in mainstream extreme statistics, was developed in MATLAB programming. Several diagnostic plots were drawn to ensure the validity of the GPD model. Extreme wave heights were estimated for several return periods and the confidence intervals band was determined for the estimated extreme wave heights. The wave height data set used in the modeling was observed during a 41-year period from 1949 to 1989, in the South China Sea, inside the offshore area of the Federal Territory of Labuan, off the coast of Sabah, Malaysia. The results highlight the merits associated with the model and formulas. The comparison of results of this study with preceding studies over the same data set represents the credibility of the GPD. The GPD model was successfully fitted for the data, and the obtained extreme wave height is 4.71 m for the return period of 100 years.