  In the present study we evaluate the approaches to estimate the wave energy
potential of the western Black Sea shelf with numerical models. For the purpose
of our evaluation and due to the lack of long time series of measurements in
the selected area of the Black Sea, we compare the modeled mean wave power flux
output from the SWAN wave model with the only available long term measurements
from the buoy of Gelendzhik for the period 1997-2003 (with gaps). The forcing
meteorological data for the numerical wave models for the selected years is
extracted from the ERA Interim reanalysis of ECMWF (European Centre for Medium
range Forecasts). For the year 2003 we also compare the estimated wave power
with the modeled by SWAN, using ALADIN regional atmospheric model winds. We try
to identify the shortcomings and limitations of the numerical modeling approach
to the evaluation of the wave energy potential in Black Sea.
