Statistical Analyses of Wave Height and Wind Velocity Distributions for the Sea of Marmara

Abstract

The Sea of Marmara, a relatively small basin located between the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea with narrow seaways of the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles, has vital importance in coastal and ocean engineering activities due to substantial industrial development surrounding it and related sea traffic. Despite this importance, measurements concerning coastal engineering applications, in particular the wave climate, are quite scarce. Lack of essential data impairs the reliability of engineering works such as breakwaters and coastal protection structure designs. For a period of approximately one year between February 2013 and January 2014 Turkish Petroleum International Company (TPIC) carried out wave and wind measurements in the Sea of Marmara. The data were collected in 30-minute intervals throughout the one year span at the location of 41o04’ N and 28o19’ E with 50 m water depth. The present work analyses this rather unique data statistically for wind, wave height and energy conditions in the Sea of Marmara.