Abstract
This study presents a detailed assessment of wave conditions in the Gulf of Oman based on numerical simulations during the passage of three cyclones that have caused severe impacts to the coastal communities. The cyclone-generated waves for Gonu (2007), Phet (2010) and Kyarr (2019) are validated against satellite altimeter data and offshore wave buoy measurements. Simulation results obtained at four locations indicate that significant wave heights decrease as waves propagate into the Gulf. The maximum significant wave heights occurred during cyclone Gonu with values between 4.0 and 7.2 m within the Gulf of Oman whilst for the other two cyclones were just over 2.0 m. Longer peak wave periods were obtained for cyclone Kyarr (12.9 s). Although wave heights tend to decrease with increasing distance from the entrance of the Gulf of Oman, peak wave periods remain constant. The study provides valuable information on cyclonic-wave conditions for coastal management and planning, risk assessment studies and preliminary engineering design. The cyclone model, together with additional marine observation buoys, is an essential set of tools in measuring and forecasting wave conditions for future cyclones and, consequently, to increase safety of coastal populations and infrastructure.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Allahdadi M, Chaichitehrani N, Allahyar M, McGee L (2017) Wave spectral patterns during a historical cyclone: a numerical model for cyclone Gonu in the Northern Oman Sea. Open J Fluid Dyn 7:131–151. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojfd.2017.72009
Bakhtiari A, Allahyar MR, Jedari Attari M, Haghshenas SA, Bagheri M (2018) Modeling of last recent tropical storms in the Arabian Sea. J Coast Mar Eng 1(1):58–66
Booij N, Ris RC, Holthuijsen LH (1999) A third-generation wave model for coastal regions: 1. Model description and validation. J Geophys Res 104(C4):7649–7666. https://doi.org/10.1029/98JC02622
Chan J, Gray W (1982) Tropical cyclone movement and surrounding flow relationships. Mon Weather Rev 110(12):1354–1374
Cox AT, Swail VR (2001) A global wave hindcast over the period 1958–1997: validation and climate assessment. J Geophys Res 106:2313–2329. https://doi.org/10.1029/2001JC000301
Dibajnia M, Soltanpour M, Nairn R, Allahyar M (2010) Cyclone Gonu: the most intense tropical cyclone on record in the Arabian Sea. In: Charabi Y (ed) Indian Ocean Tropical Cyclones and Climate Change. Springer, Berlin. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3109-9_19
Drost EJF, Lowe R, Ivey GN, Jones NL, Pequignet A (2017) The effects of tropical cyclone characteristics on the surface wave fields in Australia’s North West region. Cont Shelf Res 139:35–53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csr.2017.03.006
Duvat VKE, Magnam AK, Etiene S, Salmon C, Pgnon-Mussaud C (2016) Assessing the impact of and resilience to tropical cyclone Bejisa, Reunion Island (Indian Ocean). Nat Hazards 83:601–640
Fritz HM, Blount CD, Albusaidi FB, Al-Harthy AHM (2010) Cyclone Gonu storm surge in Oman. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 86:102–106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2009.10.019
Ghader S, Yazgi D, Haghshenas SA, Arab AR, Attari MJ, Bakhtiari A, Zinsazboroujerdi H (2016) Hindcasting tropical storm events in the Oman Sea. J Coast Res Spec Ed 75:1087–1091. https://doi.org/10.2112/SI75-218.1
Haggag M, Badry H (2012) Hydrometeorological modeling study of tropical cyclone Phet in the Arabian Sea in 2010. Atmos Clim Sci 2:174–190. https://doi.org/10.4236/acs.2012.22018
Holland G (1980) An analytic model of the wind and pressure profiles in hurricanes. Mon Weather Rev 108:1212–1218
IPCC (2013) Climate Change 2013: The physical science basis. Contribution of working group I to the Fifth assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK and New York, 1535 pp
IOC, Iho, BODC (2003) Centenary edition of the GEBCO digital atlas, published on CD-ROM on behalf of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission and the International Hydrographic Organization as part of the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans. British Oceanographic Data Centre, Liverpool
Knapp KR, Diamond HJ, Kossin JP, Kruk MC, Schreck CJ (2018) International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship (IBTrACS) Project, Version 4. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. https://doi.org/10.25921/82ty-9e16. [Accessed 13 Nov 2019]
Komen GJ, Hasselmann S, Hasselmann K (1984) On the existence of a fully developed wind sea spectrum. J Phys Oceanogr 14:1271–1285. https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0485(1984)014%3c1271:OTEOAF%3e2.0.CO;2
Liu Q, Babanin A, Fan Y, Zieger S, Guan C, Moon IJ (2017) Numerical simulations of ocean surface waves under hurricane conditions: assessment of existing model performance. Ocean Model 118:73–93. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocemod.2017.08.005
Mashhadi L, Hadjizadeh Zaker N, Soltanpour M, Moghimi S (2015) Study of the Gonu tropical cyclone in the Arabian Sea. J Coast Res 31:616–623. https://doi.org/10.2112/JCOASTRES-D-13-00017.1
Perez J, Menedez M, Losada IJ (2017) GOW2: a global wave hindcast for coastal applications. Coast Eng 124:1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coastaleng.2017.03.005
Powell MD (1980) Evaluations of diagnostic marine boundary layer models applied to hurricanes. Mon Weather Rev 108:758–766
Ribal A, Young I (2018) 33 years of globally calibrated wave height and wind speed data based on altimeter observations (superseded). Aust Ocean Data Netw. https://doi.org/10.26198/5c184f4a5cd2e
Ris RC, Holthuijsen LH, Booij N (1999) A third-generation wave model for coastal regions: 2. Verif J Geophys Res 104(C4):7667–7681. https://doi.org/10.1029/1998JC900123
Sarker MA (2018) Numerical modelling of waves and surge from Cyclone Chapala (2015) in the Arabian Sea. Ocean Eng 158:299–310. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oceaneng.2018.04.014
Sarker MA, Sleigh AJ (2015) Cyclone and tsunami hazards in the Arabian Sea—a numerical modelling case study by Royal HaskoningDHV. J Shipp Ocean Eng 5:242–254. https://doi.org/10.17265/2159-5879/2015.05.003
Smith TA, Chen S, Campbell T, Martin P, Rogers WE, Gabersek S, Wang D, Caroll S, Allard R (2013) Ocean–wave coupled modeling in COAMPS-TC: a study of Hurricane Ivan (2004). Ocean Model 69:181–194. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocemod.2013.06.003
Stopa J (2018) Wind forcing calibration and wave hindcast comparison using multiple reanalysis and merged satellite wind datasets. Ocean Model 127:55–69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocemod.2018.04.008
Tasnim KM, Shibayama T, Esteban M, Takagi H, Ohira K, Nakamura R (2015) Field observation and numerical simulation of past and future storm surges in the Bay of Bengal: case study of cyclone Nargis. Nat Hazards 75:1619–1647
The SWAN team (2018) Scientific and technical documentation: SWAN Cycle III version 41.20AB. https://swanmodel.sourceforge.net/
Tolman HL, Alves JH (2005) Numerical modeling of wind waves generated by tropical cyclones using moving grids. Ocean Model 9:305–323
Vieira F, Cavalcante G, Campos E (2020) Analysis of wave climate and trends in a semi-enclosed basin (Persian Gulf) using a validated SWAN model. Ocean Eng. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oceaneng.2019.106821
Webster PJ, Holland GJ, Curry JA, Chang HR (2005) Changes in tropical cyclone number, duration, and intensity in a warming environment. Science 309(5742):1844–1846
Young IR, Sobey RJ (1981) The numerical prediction of tropical cyclone wind-waves. James Cook University of North Queensland, Townville, Department of Civil & Systems Engineering, Research Bulletin No. CS20
Acknowledgements
This project was supported by the American University of Sharjah within the FRG19-M-G74 project. The authors are grateful to the providers of the data used in this study: Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) for providing wave buoy data; Australian Ocean Data Network for the availability of the Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) satellite altimeter data set. IMOS is a national collaborative research infrastructure, supported by the Australian Government; British Oceanographic Data Centre for the GEBCO data; SWAN model authors for making the software available. The authors would also like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments that contributed to the final article.
Funding
This project was partially funded by the American University of Sharjah within the FRG19-M-G74 project.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
Conceptualization, Methodology, Formal analysis and investigation and Writing—original draft preparation: FV: Writing—review and editing: Georgenes Cavalcante and Edmo Campos; Funding acquisition: GC.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Vieira, F., Cavalcante, G. & Campos, E. Simulation of cyclonic wave conditions in the Gulf of Oman. Nat Hazards 105, 2203–2217 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-020-04396-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-020-04396-9