Class 1

Introduction to Met-ocean Engineering
Projects related to Coastal and Offshore Engineering : carry out

detailed Met-ocean analysis (prevalent environmental conditions of
a given location or a specific site).
Met-ocean conditions  wind, wave, and climate data for a given

location presented in the form of statistics (seasonal variability,
scatter tables, wind roses, probability of exceedance etc.)
Relevant Meteorological Data  Wind speed, Wind direction,

Wind Gust, Wind Rose, Power Spectrum, Air temperature, Humidity,
Cyclone activity and its frequency.
Relevant Oceanographic Data  Water Level Elevations, Sea

Level Rise and its variability, Storm Surges, Tides, Tsunamis, Seiches,
Wind-Waves, Bathymetry, Salinity, Ocean Stratification, Ice cover
etc.)
Introduction to Met-ocean Engineering
Met-ocean Data Acquisition  Instruments deployed near project
area, Global Reanalysis data (from numerical models), Satellite
Remote Sensing data.
Estimation of the Probability of Exceedance  requires data of

extreme weather events for a longer period of time.
Estimation of the Probability of Exceedance  requires data of

extreme weather events for a longer period of time.
Well calibrated Numerical models  if no long-term wave data is

available at nearby offshore location – a wind-wave model can be
used to transform offshore wave statistics to nearshore location.
REAL SEA-STATE
Ocean Wave Record
1-D Wave Energy

Density
Most of the waves present on the ocean’s
surface are wind-generated waves.
• Size and type of wind-generated waves are
controlled by:
– wind velocity
– wind duration
– Fetch
– original state of the sea surface.
• As wind velocity increases wavelength, period
and height increase, but only if wind duration
and fetch are sufficient.
• A fully developed
7-1
sea is a sea-state
where the waves generated by the
wind have reached its saturation
limit.
• Significant wave height is the average

of the highest 1/3rd waves in a wave
record.
– A good indicator for Ocean Engineering applications
and Coastal processes.
• As waves pass, wave form and wave
energy move forward, but not the water.
• Water molecules move in an orbital
motion as the wave passes.
• Diameter of orbit increases with
increasing wave size and decreases with
depth below the water surface.
Wave Motion, Orbit Diameter, and Stokes Drift
7-2
• Wave base is the depth to which a surface
wave can move water.
• If the water is deeper than wave base:
– orbits are circular
– no interaction between the bottom and
the wave.
• If the water is shallower than wave base
– orbits are elliptical
– orbits become increasingly flattened
towards the bottom.
Deep and Shallow Water Wave Motion
Life History of Ocean Waves
Fetch is the area of contact between the wind and the

water and is where wind-generated waves begin.
• Wind-Sea is the term applied to the sea state of the fetch

when there is a chaotic jumble of new waves.
• Waves continue to grow until the sea is fully developed or
becomes limited by fetch restriction or wind duration.
Wave interference is the momentary interaction between waves as
they pass through each other.
Wave interference can be constructive or destructive.
Chaotic Sea exhibiting complex surface wave forms
Dispersion: Gradual separation of wave
types based on their relative wavelengths
and speeds
Because celerity increases as wavelength

increases:
- long waves travel faster than short waves.
- This causes dispersion outside of the

fetch and regular ocean swell.
Life History of Ocean Waves
A Rogue wave occurs when there is a momentary appearance of an
unusually large wave formed by constructive interference of many
smaller waves.
7-3
The shallower the water, the greater the interaction
between the wave and the bottom alters the wave
properties, eventually causing the wave to collapse.
• Wave speed decreases as depth decreases.
• Wavelength decreases as depth decreases.
• Wave height increases as depth decreases.
• Troughs become flattened and the wave profile

becomes extremely asymmetrical.
Wave refraction is the bending of a wave crest into an area
where it travels more slowly.
Wave steepness is the ratio of wave height divided by wavelength (H/L).
• In shallow water, wave height increases

and wave length decreases.
• When H/L is larger than or equals 1/7
(H/L  1/7), the wave becomes unstable
and breaks.
• There are three types of breakers: spilling
breakers, plunging breakers, and surging
breakers.
Spilling, Plunging and Surging Breakers
•Spilling breaker: Top of wave
crest ‘spills over’ wave. Energy
released gradually across entire
surf zone.
•Plunging breaker: Crest ‘curls

over’ front of wave. Energy
dissipates quickly. Common at
shorelines with steep slopes
•Surging breaker: Never breaks as

it never attains critical wave
steepness. Common along
upwardly sloping beach faces or
seawalls. Energy released
seaward.
Dispersion relation
 2  gk tanh(kh)
In deep waters: 'h' is large, hence:
tanh(kh)  1
  2  gk
 L = 1.56 T 2
In shallow waters: 'h' is small, hence:
tanh(kh)  kh
 2  gk (kh)
Speed of long period waves, C = gh
WAVE BEHAVIOR IN SHALLOW WATER
Near shore Wave Processes

WAVE REFRACTION
Wave Refraction in a bay

WAVE
REFRACTION
Top View of Refraction

Phenomenon
WAVE DIFFRACTION
WAVE BREAKING
• The separation of water particles from the wave
under the action of gravity is known as wave
breaking.
• Wave breaking process causes energy dissipation

by turbulence.
• Breaking is always a nonlinear phenomenon and

is therefore extremely difficult to describe
analytically.

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Introduction to Met-ocean Engineering

Projects related to Coastal and Offshore Engineering : carry out

Met-ocean conditions  wind, wave, and climate data for a given

Relevant Meteorological Data  Wind speed, Wind direction,

Relevant Oceanographic Data  Water Level Elevations, Sea

Estimation of the Probability of Exceedance  requires data of

Estimation of the Probability of Exceedance  requires data of

Well calibrated Numerical models  if no long-term wave data is

1-D Wave Energy

• Significant wave height is the average

Fetch is the area of contact between the wind and the

• Wind-Sea is the term applied to the sea state of the fetch

Because celerity increases as wavelength

- long waves travel faster than short waves.

- This causes dispersion outside of the

• Wave speed decreases as depth decreases.

• Wavelength decreases as depth decreases.

• Wave height increases as depth decreases.

• Troughs become flattened and the wave profile

• In shallow water, wave height increases

•Plunging breaker: Crest ‘curls

•Surging breaker: Never breaks as

Near shore Wave Processes

Wave Refraction in a bay

Top View of Refraction

• Wave breaking process causes energy dissipation

• Breaking is always a nonlinear phenomenon and

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