The Xiamen Symposium on Marine Environmental Sciences

2027 Xiamen Symposium on Marine Environmental Sciences

January 12-15, 2027

Decadal wave reconstruction in the Mediterranean Sea with graph neural networks
ID:1286 Poster Presentation

2027-01-15 17:15 (China Standard Time)

Session:Session 44 - Digital Twins of the Ocean: From Observations and Models to Decision Ready Science

Abstract
Accurate simulation and prediction of ocean waves are essential for coastal risk management and climate studies. Deep learning has shown promising results for wave modeling, but most approaches still operate on regular grids and on forecasting time scales, and do not generalize to unstructured discretization or to long time horizons. Here we present WaveGraph, a model based on Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) that emulates basin-scale wave dynamics directly on unstructured meshes with high resolution along the coasts (up to 2-3 km). Trained on bias-corrected simulation data over the Mediterranean Sea, WaveGraph uses a multiscale architecture combining the unstructured model mesh with a uniform graph, allowing simultaneous representation of local coastal interactions and large-scale wave dynamics. The model reconstructs the evolution of significant wave height, mean period, and mean direction, and is applied autoregressively for a continuous 17-year period without reinitialization or drift. Validation against buoy and satellite observations shows skill comparable to the input data set, and ablation experiments indicate that wind forcing drives most of the long-term stability while wave history improves swell-driven and basin-scale dynamics. These results show that GNNs can provide stable and efficient emulators of spectral wave models on unstructured domains, enabling decadal wave reconstructions.
Speaker
Federica Benassi Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Bologna;CMCC Foundation - Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change

Author
Federica Benassi Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Bologna;CMCC Foundation - Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change

    Important Dates

    • Jan 30

      2026

      Session / Event proposals open

    • Mar 31

      2026

      Session / Event proposals close
      (Extended to April 7)

    • Apr 30

      2026

      Session acceptance notifications

    • Apr 30

      2026

      Abstract submissions & registration open

    • Jun 30

      2026

      Abstract submissions close
      (Extended to July 21)

    • Aug 31

      2026

      Abstract acceptance notifications

    • Sep 15

      2026

      Scientific program released

    • Oct 15

      2026

      Early bird registration closes

    • Jan 12–15

      2027

      XMAS 2027