Abstract
Islands are isolated systems that depend on maritime trade for their subsistence. Efficient, durable and structurally reliable port infrastructures are essential for the economic and social development of islands. However, not all port infrastructures are designed in the same way. They can vary, depending on whether they are built on continental land, built on non-volcanic islands or built on volcanic oceanic islands (such as the Canary Islands, Spain). The latter islands are the subject of this study due to their specific features, construction difficulties and the importance of sound maritime infrastructures. The maritime climate of an area consists of the wave and storm regimes that affect it and, from these, the coastal dynamics and coastal formations of that area can be studied. For this reason, historical data were collated on significant directional wave heights from 1958 to 2015 from several WANA-SIMAR points in the virtual buoy network of State Ports of Spain located near the Canary Islands. These data have been studied to obtain the maximum directional wave heights (Hs) at each point. With this analysis, we have obtained useful summary tables to calculate wave height by a graphic method that transforms the distribution function into a line drawn on probabilistic paper, using reduced variables. This enables adjustments to be made by linear regression and minimum square methods to facilitate planning and design of maritime infrastructures in a reliable way. Doi: 10.28991/CEJ-2022-08-01-02 Full Text: PDF
Highlights
In the Atlantic zone, many socio-economic activities are affected in a significant way by weather events
For directional significant height, the direction variable is already taken into account due to the prevailing wind and with respect to the peak period in seconds, the swell is composed of a superposition of groups of waves of different periods, and the period of the group of waves with the most energy has been taken into account, i.e. the peak period Tp, so that any other variable would not be on the safety side
Analyzing the values of maximum directional wave heights, the probability that a certain wave height will not be exceeded in a period equal to one year was obtained using the Weibull function
Summary
In the Atlantic zone, many socio-economic activities are affected in a significant way by weather events. One type is generated by disturbances or storms that circulate from west to east in the North Atlantic and spread to the islands in a south and southeast direction, called bottom sea or overflow [2] These waves can reach heights of up to 8 metres and, in exceptional cases, up to 10 metres or more. This study collected all the historical data on significant directional wave heights from 1958 to 2015 from several WANA-SIMAR points of the Virtual Buoy Network of Spanish State Ports in the vicinity of the Canary Islands in order to obtain the maximum directional Hs wave heights at each point To make these estimations, the Canary island maritime climate must be analysed thoroughly.
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