International Journal of Ocean and Coastal Engineering

A data set containing detailed measurements of wind velocity and wave fields, conducted in the Gulf of Aqaba, near the city of Eliat, is made freely available. The set is highly suitable to be used in students’ education and specialists’ training in the field of physical oceanography and wind–waves interactions. It contains measurements of the wind velocity field performed by two sonic anemometers, of water surface fluctuations conducted by a spatial array of staff wave gages, and of records of the water column pressure conducted by a submerged pressure gage. Recorded simultaneously at high temporal (80Hz) and spatial resolutions, these data offer examination of various physical processes governing the wind–waves evolution. The diurnal fluctuations of the wind forcing allow examination of the wave field evolution during the growth, steady, and decay periods. Measured at two heights above the mean water level, wind velocity component records are suitable for deriving important wind flow characteristics. Examples of relevant processing methods and techniques are provided, including representative results, to serve as a reference point for educational use. These include estimations of the mean and fluctuating quantities and their daily variations, spectral analysis, and higher order statistical analysis.

To better understand the physical processes involved in the wave–seabed–pipeline interactions (WSPI), a three-dimensional numerical model for the wave-induced soil response around an offshore pipeline is proposed in this paper. Seabed instability around an offshore pipeline is one of the key factors that need to be considered by coastal engineers in the design of offshore infrastructures. Most previous investigations into the problem of WSPI have only considered wave conditions and have not included currents, despite the co-existence of waves and currents in natural ocean environments. Unlike previous studies, currents are included in the present study for the numerical modeling of WSPI, using an integrated FVM model, in which the volume-averaged Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (VARANS) equation is used to solve the mean fluid field, while Biot’s consolidation equation is used to describe the solid–pore fluid interaction in the porous medium. Numerical examples demonstrate a significant influence of ocean current direction and angle on the wave-induced pore pressures and the resultant seabed liquefaction around the pipeline, which cannot be observed in two-dimensional (2D) numerical simulation.