Daniel Peláez-Zapata

Daniel Peláez-Zapata

About Me

I am a physical oceanographer studying air–sea interactions, with a focus on ocean wave dynamics. My research combines field observations, remote sensing, and numerical modelling to understand how waves are generated, evolve, and dissipate, and how they influence ocean–atmosphere exchanges and climate processes.

Research Interests

Ocean wave dynamics:

Generation, evolution, and dissipation processes

Air–sea momentum and energy transfer:

Coupling between waves, wind, and currents

Upper ocean turbulence:

Wave-driven boundary layers and Langmuir circulation

Gas exchange processes:

Wave-induced and bubble-mediated air–sea fluxes

Observational methods:

Ocean acoustics, wave buoys, satellite remote sensing, and radar systems

Numerical modeling:

SWAN, WAVEWATCH III, Oceananigans.jl, GOTM, etc

Education

PhD. Mathématiques aux interfaces

Université Paris-Saclay

France

PhD. Applied Mathematics

University College Dublin

Ireland

M.Sc. Physical Oceanography

CICESE

Ensenada, México

M.Eng. Water Resources

Universidad Nacional de Colombia

Medellín

B.Sc. Civil Engineering

Universidad Nacional de Colombia

Medellín

Recent Publications

Selected peer-reviewed publications in physical oceanography

2025

Sea Surface Temperature and Directional Wave Spectra During the 2023 Marine Heatwave in the North Atlantic

Daniel Peláez-Zapata, Brian Ward, Frédéric Dias

Scientific Data, 2025

DOI

2025

Meteotsunami prediction in km-scale regional systems coupled at high frequency

Nefeli Makrygianni, Ségolène Berthou, David L. A. Flack, Cindy Lebeaupin Brossier, Jonathan Beuvier, Juan Manuel Castillo, Emiliano Renzi, Clare O’Neill, Daniel Peláez-Zapata, Frederic Dias, Huw Lewis, Diego Bruciaferri

Copernicus GmbH, 2025

DOI

2025

Ocean wave measurements for marine renewable energy applications

Daniel Peláez-Zapata, Vikram Pakrashi, Frédéric Dias

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2025

1 citation

DOI

2025

EWDM: A wavelet-based method for estimating directional spectra of ocean waves

Daniel Peláez-Zapata, Frédéric Dias

Journal of Open Source Software, 2025

1 citation

DOI

View All Publications

Research Projects

Current and future research initiatives

planned

Machine Learning for Wave Height Prediction

Exploring machine learning techniques to improve short-term wave height predictions using historical observations and model outputs. Combining traditional numerical models with neural networks for enhanced forecasting accuracy.

Jan 2025

machine learning wave prediction neural networks Python

ongoing

ARIA/WAVECLIM: Wave Breaking in Climate

Understanding the role of wave breaking in climate systems. This ARIA-funded project investigates how wave breaking processes affect air-sea interactions and contribute to climate dynamics.

Jun 2024

Funding: ARIA

PIs: Prof. Serge Guillas (UCL), Prof. Frédéric Dias (UCD), Prof. Christine Gommenginger (NOC)

Collaborators: Jack Dignan (UCL), Ben Timmermans (NOC), Isadora Zampol (NOC)

wave breaking climate air-sea interactions numerical modeling

ongoing

ARANSAT: Directional Spectrum Analysis from CFOSAT

Analysis of CFOSAT satellite data collocated with Spotter buoys and NDBC buoys to investigate the shape of the directional spectrum. This project combines satellite remote sensing with in-situ observations to improve our understanding of wave directionality.

Jan 2024

Funding: CNES

PI: Prof. Frédéric Dias (University College Dublin)

CFOSAT satellite oceanography directional spectra GPS buoys NDBC

completed

Wave Spectra Analysis with Wavelet Methods

Development of a wavelet-based technique for analysing ocean wave directional spectra from GPS buoy data. This project explores non-parametric methods for understanding wave field complexity. Part of the big ERC HIGHWAVE project.

Jan 2022 - Aug 2024

Funding: ERC

PI: Prof. Frédéric Dias (University College Dublin)

Collaborators: Dr. Vikram Pakrashi (University College Dublin)

wavelets directional spectra GPS buoys signal processing

View Repository

View All Projects

Blog & Tutorials

Technical guides, research updates, and insights

research update

A Drifting Buoy's Journey Through an Extreme Event: Recording the 2023 Marine Heatwave

December 12, 2025

Our new paper in Scientific Data presents a unique high-resolution dataset captured by a serendipitously drifting buoy during the 2023 North Atlantic marine heatwave.

Marine Heatwaves Climate Change Ocean Temperature

tutorial

Battle of the MEMs: Burg vs. Shannon for Directional Wave Spectrum Reconstruction

December 8, 2025

A practical comparison of Burg's and Shannon's Maximum Entropy Methods for reconstructing directional wave spectra from buoy measurements

Ocean Waves Wave Analysis Python

tutorial

Setting Up Julia with GPU Support on Ruche HPC

November 6, 2025

A practical guide to installing Julia with CUDA support on the Ruche HPC cluster and running GPU-accelerated Oceananigans simulations.

Julia GPU HPC

research update

A Better Way to Measure Ocean Wave Directions: From Research to Software

May 5, 2025

How wavelets help us understand where ocean waves come from, and why we built a Python toolkit to make this accessible to everyone.

Ocean Waves Python Wavelets

modelling

Setting Up SWAN for Coastal Wave Modeling

October 20, 2024

Step-by-step guide to installing and configuring the SWAN wave model for coastal applications. Includes practical tips for grid generation and boundary conditions.

SWAN wave modeling coastal engineering

research update

The Hidden World of Ocean Bubbles: Measuring What Lies Beneath Breaking Waves

October 15, 2024

How acoustic sensors are helping us understand the complex dynamics of bubble plumes created by breaking waves, and why these tiny bubbles matter for our climate.

Ocean Waves Wave Breaking Acoustics

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Get in Touch

Connect with me on various platforms

Collaboration & Opportunities

I'm always interested in collaborating on research projects, consulting opportunities, or discussing ocean science. Feel free to reach out!

Send Email

About Me

Research Interests

Education

PhD. Mathématiques aux interfaces

PhD. Applied Mathematics

M.Sc. Physical Oceanography

M.Eng. Water Resources

B.Sc. Civil Engineering

Recent Publications

Sea Surface Temperature and Directional Wave Spectra During the 2023 Marine Heatwave in the North Atlantic

Meteotsunami prediction in km-scale regional systems coupled at high frequency

Ocean wave measurements for marine renewable energy applications

EWDM: A wavelet-based method for estimating directional spectra of ocean waves

Research Projects

Machine Learning for Wave Height Prediction

ARIA/WAVECLIM: Wave Breaking in Climate

ARANSAT: Directional Spectrum Analysis from CFOSAT

Wave Spectra Analysis with Wavelet Methods

Blog & Tutorials

A Drifting Buoy's Journey Through an Extreme Event: Recording the 2023 Marine Heatwave

Battle of the MEMs: Burg vs. Shannon for Directional Wave Spectrum Reconstruction

Setting Up Julia with GPU Support on Ruche HPC

A Better Way to Measure Ocean Wave Directions: From Research to Software

Setting Up SWAN for Coastal Wave Modeling

The Hidden World of Ocean Bubbles: Measuring What Lies Beneath Breaking Waves

Get in Touch

Email

GitHub

Google Scholar

ORCID

ResearchGate

LinkedIn

Collaboration & Opportunities