Low-frequency interannual climatic oscillations have been reported to influence the precipitation regimes, river discharges, winds, and sea level in the Caribbean Sea. Here, we analyzed the presence and relevance of low-frequency oscillations in the waves’ climate of the Caribbean Sea using data from WAVEWATCH III (NOAA) reanalysis and applying frequency domain wavelet transform technique. Results show a clear sectorization of the Caribbean Sea according to the presence and relevance of interannual oscillations in wave climate, where the southwestern region (Colombian basin) exhibits a larger number of statistically significant oscillations (at 95% confidence levels) with recurrence periods of 2–4, 4–8, and 8–12 years. Only some of these frequencies are observed in the rest of Caribbean basin. Two climatic events occurring in the periods 1997–1998 and 2010–2011 stand out in the study zone for their high energy in wavelet analysis. These events have been associated with the occurrence of the warm and cold phases of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), respectively, and are well known due to their strong global effects on hydroclimatology. Thus, an additional analysis was performed in the time domain to investigate the effect of the two events on Caribbean Sea waves. The results revealed an influence of ENSO on significant wave height and peak period comparing with multi-year average conditions, producing highly variable spatial and temporal wave patterns, with more evident effects during the cold phase of ENSO (La Niña). These results confirm the sectorization of the Caribbean Sea regarding the energy and interannual variability of waves.

中文翻译：

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加勒比海海浪气候的年际变化

据报道，低频年际气候振荡会影响加勒比海的降水方式，河流流量，风向和海平面。在这里，我们使用WAVEWATCH III（NOAA）重新分析的数据并应用频域小波变换技术，分析了加勒比海海浪气候中低频振荡的存在和相关性。结果显示，根据波浪气候中年际振荡的存在和相关性，加勒比海清楚地划分为扇区，西南地区（哥伦比亚盆地）表现出较大的统计上显着的振荡（置信度为95％），重复周期为2 –4、4–8和8–12年。在加勒比海盆地的其余地区仅观察到了其中一些频率。小波分析中的高能量在1997-1998年和2010-2011年期间发生的两个气候事件中表现突出。这些事件分别与厄尔尼诺南部涛动（ENSO）的暖期和冷期的发生有关，并且由于它们对水文气候学的强烈全球影响而众所周知。因此，在时域中进行了额外的分析，以调查这两个事件对加勒比海海浪的影响。结果表明，与多年平均条件相比，ENSO对重要的波高和高峰期有影响，产生了高度可变的时空波型，在ENSO（LaNiña）的冷期期间影响更为明显。