HR: 1330h
AN: OS43A-14    [Abstracts]
TI: Extreme Seas Under the Eye of Ivan
AU: * Wang, D W
EM: david.wang@nrlssc.navy.mil
AF: Naval Research Laboratory, Stennis Space Center, MS 39529 United States
AU: Teague, W J
EM: teague@nrlssc.navy.mil
AF: Naval Research Laboratory, Stennis Space Center, MS 39529 United States
AU: Mitchell, D A
EM: doug.mitchell@nrlssc.navy.mil
AF: Naval Research Laboratory, Stennis Space Center, MS 39529 United States
AU: Jarosz, E
EM: ewa.jarosz@nrlssc.navy.mil
AF: Naval Research Laboratory, Stennis Space Center, MS 39529 United States
AU: Hulbert, M S
EM: mark.hulbert@nrlssc.navy.mil
AF: Naval Research Laboratory, Stennis Space Center, MS 39529 United States
AB: An array of current profilers with wave/tide gauges were deployed in trawl-resistant bottom mounts on the continental shelf just west of the Desoto Canyon as part of the Naval Research Laboratory's SEED program. Hurricane Ivan passed through the center of the array in September, 2004. Ivan was one of the strongest hurricanes ever to enter the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. Here, a high concentration of drilling rigs, platforms, and pipelines were directly affected by Ivan. In addition to damages on offshore rigs above the sea surface, extensive damages on underwater pipelines and massive mudslides were also reported. The instruments survived Ivan, and for the first time provide in-situ measurements of the spatial and temporal evolutions of currents, ocean surface waves, water levels, and wave-induced currents along the storm path. Focusing here on the wave/tide measurements, the data show that wave heights at the peak of the storm commonly surpassed 20 m, with a maximum crest-to-trough wave height of 28 m. Such large waves are not only very destructive from their impact on structures above the surface but also in the water column, extending to the bottom, where wave-induced oscillatory velocities of over 2 m/s in amplitude are measured. The water level rising exceeds 0.6 m across the eye. These measurements provide a rare insight to extreme seas under storm induced conditions and can be used to improve the design and safety of offshore operations.
DE: 4219 Continental shelf processes
DE: 4504 Air/sea interactions (0312)
DE: 4512 Currents
DE: 4556 Sea level variations
DE: 4560 Surface waves and tides (1255)
SC: Ocean Sciences [OS]
MN: 2005 Joint Assembly