INTRODUCTION

History reveals that cities located along the coast, riverine and estuarine water bodies in the
world achieved rapid industrialization mainly due to (i) better transport networks that were
available either through rivers or seas, and (ii) the reason that the cost of transportation
through waterways proved to be the cheapest compared to any other mode. Accelerated
growth of these cities over many centuries attracted population both from inland and abroad
to migrate to these new coastal destinations, a factor that contributed to an exponential
increase in local population density. According to a publication by National Research
Council (Report, 2000), with the projected world’s population of about 9 billion by 2050, it is
estimated that in near future, about 6 billion people will live along the coastal region.
Constantly increasing world’s population combined with various other key factors listed
below would pose a serious challenge to already fragile coastal region over the years to come.
(i) Exploding coastal population
(ii) Rapid industrialization along the coastal belt
(iii) Threatening natural environmental conditions such as sea level rise, storms and waves
(iv) Decrease in sediment load along the coast due to natural and human interventions
(v) Depleting natural coastal defence systems such as mangroves, wetlands, salt marshes,
coral reefs, sand dunes, etc.
(vi) Reduction in marine resources
(vii) Increase in coastal pollutants, etc.
Growing demand by industrial and domestic sectors often compel administrators to
constantly explore for suitable coastal defence mechanisms or schemes to safeguard the coast
from threatening coastal environment. With reasonably well-predicted increase in (i) intensity
of environmental parameters like waves and storms and (ii) sea level rise that would result in
substantial shoreline recession, coastal managers should start preparing strategies to meet
challenging tasks ahead. Identifying methods to strengthen existing coastal structures,
formulating stringent standards for planning, designing and constructing new facilities such
as ports and coastal protective structures are some of the tasks that the coastal scientific
community should address. Parameters of importance associated with the future climate
change scenario are discussed in the subsequent paragraphs.
Further, the continuous depletion of the conventional energy resources and rapid research
towards alternative or renewable energy (a term used for an energy source that is an
alternative to using fossil fuels) are in progress. Alternative energy resources are the
renewable energy resources that are naturally available and can be naturally replenished. This
energy cannot be exhausted and is constantly renewed unlike energy generated from fossil
fuels. Apart from the solar and wind energy, the energy from the Ocean comes from a
number of sources like waves, tides and currents. In addition, the gradient between salient,
temperature and density apart from tides and waves generates ocean currents that can be
effectively utilized for extraction of energy. For designing efficient energy extraction devices
from these natural resources, a critical knowledge on the characteristics and the basic physics
of waves, tides and currents is absolutely essential. Hence, this chapter would discuss the
important basic aspects of these parameters.

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ENVIRONMENTAL PARAMETERS
Environmental parameters are the most important parameters to be considered in the design
of marine structures or in the conservation and management of coastal developmental
activities and for this, knowledge on the tides, waves and current are essential. Depending on
the site conditions, one process may augment another or may act against another.
Nevertheless, it is convenient to separate the three components—astronomically generated
tidal movements, winds and wind-generated wave action and various forms of current flow–
for the purpose of discussion.

Wind
One of the important factors in the design of marine structures is the characteristics of the
wind blowing over the ocean surface. Extreme water levels and wave climate may
simultaneously occur with wind loading which need to be considered for the survival of the
structures. The probability of marine structures being exposed to extreme winds compared to
land-based structures is quite high, as in the former; there is no sheltering effect of terrain or
vegetation. The important parameters that dictate the wind characteristics are its direction,
frequency and intensity. The wind velocity usually referred by Beaufort scale that ranges
between 0 and 17 can be expressed as

where V is wind velocity in kmph and B is the Beaufort number.

Wind speed is measured 10 m above the earth. Vs, the wind speed at any elevation, ‘s’ m is
given by

The pressure intensity due to wind (p) in kg/m2 with C defined as a coefficient = 0.00481 is
given by

The total force due to wind Fw, is given by

Here, A is the area of the exposed surface and Ksf is a shape factor varying between 1.3 and
1.6. The wind data is usually presented in terms of percentage of occurrence of wind intensity
in a particular direction either monthly, seasonally or annually. A typical wind rose diagram
is shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 1: Typical wind rose diagram

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Waves
Waves are undulations of the ocean water surface about a reference level, which may be the
mean sea level, high tide line or low tide line, the details of which will be discussed later. The
undulations are due to the wind blowing over the ocean’s surface. The characteristics of
waves are defined by its height which is the distance between its crest and trough, the
distance between successive crests termed as its length, while the time taken for the wave to
travel one wavelength is its period. The ultimate state of wave growth depends primarily on
three parameters of wind fetch (F) or the distance over which it blows on the water surface,
its velocity (v) and the duration (t) of time for which the wind blows.

Fig. 2: Development of waves within generating area

Although the theoretical and simplistic waveform is a sinusoidal curve, that form is not
common in nature. Wave shape depends on the conditions of the wind, water depth, and the
progression of the wave itself. Waves are basically surface phenomena characterized by their
oscillatory motion, the magnitude of which reduces rapidly towards the seabed. This would
mean that a body floating on the surface of the ocean will undergo an oscillatory motion and
when structures are exposed to such motions, they will experience cyclic loading.

Fig. 3: Definition Sketch of a Propagating Wave

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Cyclones
There are two types of low-pressure systems that can lead to the formation of intense wind
circulation. The first one is the ‘extra-tropical cyclone’ which draws its strength mainly from
temperature gradients in the atmosphere (Donn, 1975). The second one is the ‘tropical
cyclone’ which develops when ocean surface temperature exceeds 27oC enabling moist air to
rise, resulting in condensation of water vapour and release of heat. In the process, the
pressure near the ocean surface drops and as a consequence, cold wind in the vicinity rushes
in to the system. The generation processes of extra-tropical and tropical cyclones are
explained in the following sections.
Generation Process of an Extra-tropical Cyclone
There are three stages in the development of a cyclone. Initially, if conditions are favourable,
an interaction between tropical air and polar easterlies generates polar wavefront, especially
at mid-latitudes. Polar front advances into the region of tropical air and, in the process, the
advancing edge becomes unstable. Fig. 4(a) shows the initial disturbance along the polar
front and once the disturbance becomes stronger, marked polar wavefront develops [Fig.
4(b)]. With high pressure zone occurring in the west and low pressure at the apex of the
wavefront, wind starts spiralling in an anti-clockwise direction if the air movements
described occur in the northern hemisphere. In the southern hemisphere, wind will start
spiralling in the clockwise direction. Due to the continuous movement of cool and warm air
in the system, the polar wavefront becomes distinct and a fully matured storm develops [Fig.
4(c)]. Extra-tropical cyclones that occur between 30 and 60° lat. are characterized by (i)
moderate pressure gradients, (ii) wind speed less than 60 km/h and (iii) cyclonic system
speed of about 15 m/s. General observation on cyclones indicate that if the pressure drop is
by 3%, it leads to the formation of a cyclone and if it is 6%, a severe cyclone results.

Fig. 4(a): Development of an initial disturbance

Fig. 4(b): Development of polar wavefront Fig. 4(c): Development of a fully matured storm

Generation Process of Tropical Cyclones

Figure shows a simplified concept in the development of tropical cyclone. Fig. 5(a) shows
warm heated ocean air rising above water surface (when surface temperature is greater than
27oC) creating a low-pressure region. Fig. 5(b) depicts spiraling of cool air around the

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circular column of warm air. With continuous displacement of warm air, an increase in influx
of cool air occurs causing pressure to drop further and, in the process, spiraling wind system
gains strength. Fig. 5(c) shows formation of a cyclone with distinct ‘eye’ developed at the
centre. If the wind speed exceeds 120 km/h, it is classified as hurricane (Table) and tropical
cyclones usually have wind speed ranging between 72 km/h and 220 km/h.

Fig. 5(a): Warm heated ocean surface air rises

Fig. 5(b): Cool air starts spiraling around

Fig. 5(c): Development of a cyclonic system

A typical cross-section of a hurricane or cyclone is shown in Fig. 6, depicting eyewall, rain

bands and variations in wind velocity and pressure. It is interesting to note that the pressure
steadily decreases from the periphery of the cyclone till the eye-wall is reached and drops
drastically from the eye wall to the centre. The wind speed, which is almost zero at the centre
of the cyclone, shows a steep increase up to some distance and then decreases towards the
periphery. For a severe hurricane, the pressure could drop up to about 900 mb at the centre
and the wind speed can reach up to 250 km/h. The storm of 2 September 1935 in the Florida
Keys showed a record low pressure of 892 mb and the one near Luzon recorded a low
pressure of 887 mb on 18 August 1927 (Donn, 1975).

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 Fig. 6: Typical cross-section of a cyclone

Tropical cyclones, which occur between latitudes 5o and 35o have more or less circular
isobars, with strong pressure gradients and wind speed ranging from 72 to 216 km/h. The
centre of the cyclone (referred to as the “eye”) travels at a speed varying between 5 m/s and
20 m/s and moves usually along the north–south direction. They are named as hurricanes in
West Indies, typhoons in western Pacific, cyclones in India and plane tropical cyclones in
Australia. Table presents generally observed characteristics of the hurricanes, typhoons and
tropical cyclones (Silvester and Hsu, 1997).

Table: Characteristics of the hurricanes, typhoons and tropical cyclones

Note: NM: Nautical miles, kn: Knots

Cyclones and Anti-cyclones

Consider a cyclone with low pressure at the centre and the diameter of the cyclone varying
roughly from a few hundreds to about two thousand kilometre. Fig. 7(a) shows a cyclonic
circulation in the northern hemisphere wherein wind is directed to move in an anti-clockwise
direction due to the combined effect of pressure gradient, Coriolis force and centrifugal force.
However, in the southern hemisphere, wind starts moving in the clockwise direction [Fig.

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7(b)] and both of them are termed as cyclone. Instead of low pressure, if the high pressure
region is located at the centre, the associated wind system is known as anti-cyclone, with
wind moving in the clockwise direction in the northern hemisphere and vice versa in the
southern hemisphere.

Fig. 7(a): Cyclonic circulation in the northern Fig. 7(b): Cyclonic circulation in the
hemisphere (wind direction anti-clockwise) southern hemisphere (clockwise wind)

Storm Surge
Storm surge or simply rise in water level due to storm is caused predominantly by (i) large
pressure variations between the centre of the cyclone and its periphery and (ii) wind stress
directed from continental shelf towards shallow waters. Fig. 8 shows a schematic
representation of the development of surges due to pressure difference and wind stress. When
wind system migrates towards the coast, reduction in water depth and coastal configuration
contribute to an increase in the surge level.

Fig. 8: Wind stress and pressure induced surges

In order to estimate the storm surge, it is customary to calculate the total surge based on
components such as (i) initial setup, (i) pressure setup, (iii) long wave setup, (iv) wave setup,
(v) wind stress setup and (vi) Coriolis setup. However, in most cases, considering pressure
setup and wind stress setup alone would be adequate in estimating the storm surge as other
processes contribute very little to the surge (Sorensen, 1978; Pararas-Carayannis, 1975).

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Shoreline change
Shorelines in general can be influenced either due to a short-term process or a long-term
process. A discussion on the seasonal variations in the wave climate and the nature of beach
profiles that develop during and after the monsoon season, demonstrates on how the shoreline
is influenced by a short-term process. Shorelines can also be modified due to long-term
processes such as (i) rise or fall of sea level and (ii) geological events. Apart from the above
natural processes, man-made interventions cause an irreversible shoreline change due to
permanent loss or gain of sediment from the region.

Short-term Process
With the assumption that the longshore transport is weak when compared with the cross-
shore transport, short-term readjustment of beach sectional profile takes place according to (i)
the nature of wave environment and (ii) grain size of the beach sediment. With the offshore
sediment transport dominant during the monsoon season, landward displacement of beach
segments results in a shoreline retreat and the process is reversed when onshore transport
dominates during fair weather season. A simple rearrangement of the sediment deposit is
responsible for the temporary shoreline change indicating that the sediment is not lost from
the beach segments and these cyclic annual variations should not be confused with the
permanent shoreline retreat (erosion) or advance (accretion).

Long-term Process
Sea level rise or fall: A sea level rise due to global climatic conditions can cause a permanent
shoreline to retreat. Depending on the nature of wave environment, if the offshore sediment
transport is dominant, readjustment of the beach sectional profile takes place resulting in the
landward migration of beach segments. This permanent retreat is due to the fact that during
the event, the sand lost from the beach segments is never regained. This process is associated
with a time period of more than 100 years. Sea level fall would obviously result in the
seaward migration of the shoreline and depending on the wave climate, the shoreline may
gain some sand.
Geological events: Geological events such as subsidence of landmass can cause a permanent
shoreline retreat whereas an upheaval of landmass will result in the seaward migration of the
shoreline.

Man-made Interventions
Man-made interventions such as (i) construction of harbours, (ii) river training jetties, (iii)
coastal protective structures, (iv) beach nourishment, (v) beach mining, (vi) dredging of tidal
inlets, etc. can prove detrimental to the shoreline unless suitable remedial measures are in
place prior to the commencement of the activity. As these interventions [except for activities
(v) and (vi)] are responsible for intercepting the natural longshore transport, the shoreline
along the up-drift side experiences accretion whereas the shoreline on the down-drift side
recedes. These shoreline change processes may occur over a period of 10–50 years.

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Indian Coast
India has a coastline of 7,516.6 km. bordering the mainland and the islands with Bay of
Bengal in the East, the Indian Ocean on the South and the Arabian Sea on the West. There are
nine States viz. Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh,
Odisha and West Bengal and four Union Territories viz. Daman & Diu, Lakshadweep,
Puducherry and Andaman & Nicobar Islands situated on the coast. The length of coastline,
including islands, in these States and UTs is given in the following table.

Table: Length of Coastline

East Coast of India

A flat terrain characterizes the east coast of India with many major rivers such as
Brahmaputra, Ganges, Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna and Cauvery and Meghna (in
Bangladesh) flowing towards the Bay of Bengal. Large-scale sediment movement and the
presence of many natural features such as tidal inlets, deltas, sand dunes, sand-spits, make the
coast more distinct when compared with the west coast of India. With more frequent storms
occurring in the Bay of Bengal and a change in the alignment of the coast between northern
and southern coastal states, the nature of environmental conditions that prevail and the
associated sediment transport vary along the entire coast.

West Coast of India

The picturesque west coast of India is characterized by steep rocky terrain interlaced with
estuaries, sand-spits, and beaches at many places. With only two major rivers (Narmada and
Tapti) opting to discharge into the Arabian sea, sediment discharged by these major and other
medium sized rivers predominantly during southwest monsoon is far less when compared
with the east coast of India. Waves and currents transport these sediments along the coast and
remold the river mouths or estuaries. During monsoon season, strong river currents transport
most part of the sediment to the offshore region and rest moved alongshore by the waves.
During fair weather season, sediment from the offshore region is transported back to the
shore for redistribution by waves along the coastal region. Though the coastal region (with
five coastal states, viz., Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and Kerala) experiences
relatively less sediment transport, many sand-spits at various estuarine/river inlets along the
coast are highly dynamic in nature mainly due to strong fresh water currents and waves.
Apart from the occurrence of long-term shoreline change, many coastal segments experience
a short-term shoreline change due to (i) local to and fro alongshore migration of sediment
confined within a given stretch of coast, (ii) seasonal appearance of mud-banks, etc.