Thesis (Ph. D.)--Joint Program in Applied Ocean Science and Engineering (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering; and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), 2007. / Includes bibliographical references. / Surfzone wave height transformation and wave-breaking-driven increases in the mean sea level (setup) are examined on alongshore-uniform beaches with alongshore homogeneous and inhomogeneous wave forcing. While previously derived models predict wave heights adequately (root-mean-square errors typically less than 20%), the models can be improved by tuning a free parameter or by using a new parameterization based on the deep-water wave height. Based on a sensitivity analysis of the cross-shore momentum balance used to predict setup, a one-dimensional (1-D) model is developed that includes wave rollers and bottom stress owing to the mean offshore-directed flow. The model predicts setup accurately at three alongshore homogeneous field sites, as well as at a site where the incident wave field is alongshore non-uniform, suggesting that setup is driven primarily by the cross-shore (1-D) forcing. Furthermore, alongshore gradients of setup can be important to driving alongshore flows in the surfzone, and the 1-D setup model predicts these gradients accurately enough to simulate the observed flows. / by Alex Apotsos. / Ph.D.

Thesis: Ph. D., Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences; and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), 2017. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 167-179). / The daily heating of the ocean by the sun can create a stably stratified near-surface layer when the winds are slight and solar insolation is strong. This type of shallow stable layer is called a Diurnal Warm Layer (DWL). This thesis examines the physics and dynamics of DWLs from observations of the subtropical North Atlantic Ocean associated with the Salinity Processes in the Upper ocean Regional Study (SPURS-I). Momentum transferred from the atmosphere to the ocean through wind stress becomes trapped within the DWL, generating shear across the layer. During SPURS-I, strong diurnal shear across the DWL was coincident with enhanced turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) dissipation ([epsilon], [epsilon] > 10⁻⁵ W/kg) observed from glider microstructure profiles of the near-surface. However, a scale analysis demonstrated that surface forcing, including diurnal shear, could not be the sole mechanism for the enhanced TKE dissipation. High-frequency internal waves ([omega] >> f) were observed in the upper ocean during the daytime within the DWL. Internal waves are able to transfer energy from the deep ocean into the DWL through the unstratified remnant mixed layer, which is the intervening layer between the DWL and seasonal thermocline. As the strength of the stratification of the DWL increases, so does the shear caused by the tunneling internal waves. The analysis demonstrates that internal waves can generate strong enough shear to cause a shear-induced instability, and are a plausible source of the observed enhanced TKE dissipation. Vertically-varying horizontal transport across the upper ocean occurs because a diurnal current exists within the DWL, but not in the unstratified remnant mixed layer below. Therefore, when a DWL is present, the water within DWL is horizontally transported a different distance than the water below. Coupled with nocturnal convection that mixes the DWL with the unstratified layer at night, this cycle is a mechanism for submesoscale (1-10 km) lateral diffusion across the upper ocean. Estimates of a horizontal diffusion coefficient are similar in magnitude to current estimates of submesoscale diffusion based on observations, and are likely an important source of horizontal diffusion in the upper ocean. / by Alec Setnor Bogdanoff. / Ph. D.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Joint Program in Oceanography (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences; and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), 1988. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 178-180). / Analysis of vertical profiles of absolute horizontal velocity collected in January 1981, February 1982 and April 1982 in the central equatorial Pacific as part of the Pacific Equatorial Ocean Dynamics (PEQUOD) program, revealed two significant narrow band spectral peaks in the zonal velocity records, centered at vertical wavelengths of 560 and 350 stretched meters (sm). Both signals were present in all three cruises, but the 350 sm peak showed a more steady character in amplitude and a higher signal-to-noise ratio. In addition, its vertical scales corresponded to the scales of the conspicuous alternating flows generically called the equatorial deep jets in the past (the same terminology will be used here). Meridional velocity and vertical displacement spectra did not show any such energetic features. Energy in the 560 sm band roughly doubled between January 1981 and April 1982. Time lagged coherence results suggested upward phase propagation at time scales of about 4 years. East-west phase lines computed from zonally lagged coherences, tilted downward towards the west, implying westward phase propagation. Estimates of zonal wavelength (on the order of 10000 km) and period based on these coherence calculations, and the observed energy meridional structure at this vertical wavenumber band, seem consistent, within experimental errors, with the presence of a first meridional mode long Rossby wave packet, weakly modulated in the zonal direction. The equatorial deep jets, identified with the peak centered at 350 sm, are best defined as a finite narrow band process in vertical wavenumber (311-400 sm), accounting for only 20% of the total variance present in the broad band energetic background. At the jets wavenumber band, latitudinal energy scaling compared well with Kelvin wave theoretical values and a general tilt of phase lines downward towards the east yielded estimates of 10000-16000 km for the zonal wavelengths. / by Rui Vasques de Melo Ponte. / Ph.D.

The variability of the nearshore wave climate is investigated via the analysis of over 10 years of Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) data from a gauge deployed at Melbourne Beach, FL. Examples of large yearly variability in the significant wave height, peak period, mean direction and energy distribution are found in the data. Estimates of the averaged spectra for the entire record show that the average wave energy is distributed almost symmetrically with the peak being close to shore-normal. It was expected that the peak would be shifted towards the north of shore-normal considering net north to south longshore sediment transport at this location. Further analysis of the directional spectra partitioned into three directional windows reveals that waves from the southeast (avg. Hmo = 0.78 m) are less energetic than those from the northeast (avg. Hmo = 0.87 m), but they arrive from the south 53% more often. Additionally, energy-based significant wave height (Hmo), peak period (Tp) and mean period (Tmean) distributions are studied and modeled with notable success. Radiation stress (Sxy) estimates are computed using both rigorous integration as well as parameter-based approximations. These two estimates are correlated but the parameter-based approximation over predicts Sxy by 42%, because this method assigns all the wave energy into one direction (Ruessink et al., 2001). Finally, it is shown by the Sxy total average that the net longshore forcing at this location is indeed north to south, but yearly and seasonal variability were quite high. The results indicate that short-term wave records may not provide accurate information for planning purposes. For example, if only 3 months of data were collected at this site, there would be a 33% chance that the mean longshore forcing would be erroneously directed from south to north.

[pt] Este trabalho apresenta um método para calcular a resistência à fadiga de uma torre de perfuração considerando a elevação da superfície do mar, a dinâmica da plataforma na qual a torre está instalada e a dinâmica da própria torre. Modelos de ordem reduzida são utilizados para obter a elevação da superfície do mar e a dinâmica torre, e as incertezas nos parâmetros dos componentes do sistema podem ser incluídas na análise também. As análises podem ser feitas para vários estados de mar, conforme sua distribuição de probabilidade, e nenhuma hipótese sobre a distribuição de probabilidade precisa ser feita inicialmente. O histograma de distribuição de ciclos de tensão para toda vida útil do equipamento é obtido usando um procedimento de contagem de ciclos Rainflow. Os resultados e as incertezas nos mesmos são discutidos. / [en] This work presents a method for evaluation of the fatigue resistance of a drilling tower considering the sea surface elevation, the dynamics of the platform on which the tower is installed and the dynamics of the tower itself. Reduced order models are used for obtaining the sea surface elevation and the dynamics of the tower, and the uncertainties on the parameters of the components of the system can be included in the analysis as well. The analysis can be done for several sea states, according its probability distribution, and no assumption about the probability distribution of the stress ranges has to be made previously. The histogram for the distribution of stress ranges for the entire working life of the equipment is obtained using a Rainflow technique. The results and the uncertainties on them are discussed.

[Truncated abstract] The hydrodynamics of wave impact on offshore structures is not well understood. Wave impacts often involve large deformations of water free-surface. Therefore, a wave impact problem is usually combined with a free-surface problem. The complexity is expanded when the body exposed to a wave impact is allowed to move. The nonlinear interactions between a moving body and fluid is a complicated process that has been a dilemma in the engineering design of offshore and coastal structures for a long time. This thesis used experimental and numerical means to develop further understanding of the wave impact problems as well as to create a numerical tool suitable for simulation of such problems. The study included the consideration of moving boundaries in order to include the coupled interactions of the body and fluid. The thesis is organized into two experimental and numerical parts. There is a lack of benchmarking experimental data for studying fluid-structure interactions with moving boundaries. In the experimental part of this research, novel experiments were, therefore, designed and performed that were useful for validation of the numerical developments. By considering a dynamical system with only one degree of freedom, the complexity of the experiments performed was minimal. The setup included a plate that was attached to the bottom of a flume via a hinge and tethered by two springs from the top one at each side. The experiments modelled fluid-structure interactions in three subsets. The first subset studied a highly nonlinear decay test, which resembled a harsh wave impact (or slam) incident. The second subset included waves overtopping on the vertically restrained plate. In the third subset, the plate was free to oscillate and was excited by the same waves. The wave overtopping the plate resembled the physics of the green water on fixed and moving structures. An analytical solution based on linear potential theory was provided for comparison with experimental results. ... In simulation of the nonlinear decay test, the SPH results captured the frequency variation in plate oscillations, which indicated that the radiation forces (added mass and damping forces) were calculated satisfactorily. In simulation of the nonlinear waves, the waves progressed in the flume similar to the physical experiments and the total energy of the system was conserved with an error of 0.025% of the total initial energy. The wave-plate interactions were successfully modelled by SPH. The simulations included wave run-up and shipping of water for fixed and oscillating plate cases. The effects of the plate oscillations on the flow regime are also discussed in detail. The combination of experimental and numerical investigation provided further understanding of wave impact problems. The novel design of the experiments extended the study to moving boundaries in small scale. The use of SPH eliminated the difficulties of dealing with free-surface problems so that the focus of study could be placed on the impact forces on fixed and moving bodies.

The project aimed to familiarize yourself with the issue of floating structures, according to the procurement documents and knowledge acquired during studie, a study of existing floating structures. Review was conducted design adapted from documents. More space was devoted bottom structure in the assessment. Other structures designed only provisionally.

Exchange of mass (water vapor), momentum, and energy between atmosphere andocean has profound influence on weather and climate. This exchange takes place at the air-sea interface, which is part of the marine atmospheric boundary layer. Various empirical relations are being used for estimating these fluxes in numericalweather and climate models but their accuracies are not sufficiently verified or tested over the Indian Ocean. The main difficulty is that vast areas of open oceans are not easily accessible. The marine environment is very corrosive and unattended long term and accurate measurements are extremely expensive. India has research ships that spend most of their time over the seas around India but that opportunity is yet to be exploited. To address this, an air-sea flux measurement system for operation on board research ships was planned. The system was tested on board Indian Research Vessels ORV SagarKanya during its cruise SK-296 in the Bay of Bengal (BoB) in July-August 2012, and NIO ship Sindhu Sadhana in June-July 2016. The complete set included instruments for measuring wind velocity, windspeed and direction, air and water temperature, humidity, pressure, all components of radiation and rainfall. In addition, ship motion was recorded at required sampling rate to correct for wind velocity. The set up facilitates the direct computation of sensible and latent heat fluxes using the eddy covariance method. In this thesis, design and installation of meteorological and ship motion sensors onboard research ships, data collection and quality control, computation of fluxes of heat, moisture and momentum using eddy covariance method and their comparison with those derived from bulk method are described. A set of sensors (hereafter, flux measuring system) were mounted on a retractable boom, ~7 m long forward of the bow to minimize the flow disturbance caused by the ship superstructures. The wind observed in the ship frame was corrected for ship motion contaminations. During the CTCZ cruise period true mean wind speed was over 10 m/s and true wind direction was South/South-Westerly. True windspeedis computed combiningdata from the anemometer a compass connected to AWS and a GPS. Turbulent fluxes were computed from motion-corrected time-series of high frequency velocity, water vapor, and air temperature data. Covariance latent heat flux, sensible heat flux, and wind stress were obtained by cross-correlating the motion-corrected vertical velocity with fast humidity fluctuations measured with anIR hygrometer, temperate fluctuation from sonic anemometer and motion-corrected horizontal windfluctuations from sonic anemometer, respectively. During the first attempt made in July-August 2012 as part of a cruise of CTCZ monsoonresearch program, observations were mainly taken in the North Bay of Bengal. The mean air-temperature and surface pressure were ~28 Deg C and ~998 hPa, respectively. Relative humidity was ~80%. Average wind speed varied in the range 4-12 m/s. The mean latent heat flux was 145 W/m2 , sensible heat flux was ~3 W/m2 and average sea-air temperature difference was ~ 0.7°C. The Bay of Bengal boundary layer experiment (BoBBLE) was conducted during June-July 2016 and the NIO research ship Sindhu Sadhana was deployed. The same suite of sensors installed during CTCZ were used during BoBBLE. During daytime, peaks of hourly net heat fluxes (Qnet ) were around 600 Wm-2(positive if into the sea), whereas, night time values were around -250 W m-2. Sea surface temperature was always >28°C and maximum air temperature exceeded 29°C. During the experimental period the mean Qnet was around -24 Wm-2 from both eddy covariance and conventional bulk methods, but there are significant differences on individual days.The new flux system gives fluxes which are superior to what was available before.