Research Themes

Towards a Sustainable and Resilient Coastal and Offshore Development

Rogue (Freak) waves

Rogue waves are exceptionally high waves that are distinguishable from their surrounding waves. They are potential threats to the safety of human's oceanic activities. They feature a peak-to-trough height of twice the significant wave height (mean height of 1/3 of the highest waves). The phenomenon is transient meaning that they appear suddenly from nowhere and disappear without a trace, making it difficult to be recorded. It is now recognized that their generation mechanisms and dynamic characteristics are highly nonlinear. Further investigations are demanded to gain insights and make forecast.

Storm surge

Storm surge is an abnormal rise of water level due to the storm event. When superimposed with astronomical tides, they can cause widely spreading flood in coastal regions. It becomes a growing threat especially in the context of global climate change. The increasingly intensified storm events and mean sea level rising will impose great challenges to the current coastal defense infrastructure.

Tsunamis

Tsunamis are a group of successive waves origin from the source regions that can be due to landslides or seaquakes. They can cause devastating impacts on coastal community. They are hardly noticeable in deep ocean, but can grow rapidly in height when approaching the shoreline. The induced wave run-up often cause severe damages in coastal regions.

Ocean renewable energy

Offshore wave and wind renewables are sustainable energy resources for producing electricity with low emission of greenhouse gases and pollutants. Besides the studies on optimizing their performance/efficiency in working conditions, another challenge associated with the deployment is their survivability under extreme meterological conditions.