Abstract
European seas have a strong economic role both in terms of transport and tourism. Providing more knowledge, regarding the mean and extreme values of the wind and sea state conditions in the areas characterized by high maritime traffic, helps to improve navigational safety. From this perspective, six zones with high maritime traffic are studied. ERA5 database, a state-of-the-art global reanalysis dataset provided by ECMWF (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts), is used to assess the average values and the percentiles for the wind speed and the main wave parameters in the target areas considering the period 2001–2020. The main European routes and the extreme conditions along them as well as the areas characterized by high values of wind speed and high waves were also identified. A more comprehensive picture of the expected dynamics of the environmental matrix along the most significant shipping routes is useful because in this way the most dangerous areas could be avoided by ships for the safety of passengers and transported goods.
Highlights
The shipbuilding industry, especially the maritime traffic of both goods and people, has a considerable impact on the economy and technological evolution in the European sea basin
One of the main factors that affect maritime transport is weather conditions, especially wind and wave parameters. These parameters are constantly changing, and have been the subject of several studies [1–3], in order to investigate how it behaves over the years and how climatic conditions evolve, and to be able to perform predictions for their future behavior [4]. Another important aspect is the knowledge of the wind and wave climate that helps to reduce the number of accidents in areas prone to severe weather conditions, and in coastal areas where due to congestion and limited space for various maneuvers, as well as limited water depth, the accident rate is higher [1]
This paper presents a study regarding the mean and extreme values of the wind and sea state conditions in the areas characterized by high maritime traffic during the same period (2001–2020)
Summary
The shipbuilding industry, especially the maritime traffic of both goods and people, has a considerable impact on the economy and technological evolution in the European sea basin. One of the main factors that affect maritime transport is weather conditions, especially wind and wave parameters These parameters are constantly changing, and have been the subject of several studies [1–3], in order to investigate how it behaves over the years and how climatic conditions evolve, and to be able to perform predictions for their future behavior [4]. Taking into consideration the strong economic role of the European seas in terms of transport and tourism, it was considered of interest to carry out a study about the wind and wave climate that influence the safety and efficiency of navigation along the main routes crossing these seas. The latest reanalysis data provided by the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) were considered for this study, more details on the data used are given where the wind and wave climate in target areas is analyzed in detail, together with studies regarding the extreme wind and wave conditions along the maritime routes
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