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The development of the marine renewable energy and offshore aquaculture sectors is susceptible to being affected by climate change. Consequently, for the long-term planning of these activities, a holistic view on the effects of climate change on energy resources and environmental conditions is required. Based on present climate and future climate scenario, favourable conditions for wind and wave energy exploitation and for farming six marine fish species are assessed using a suitability index over all European regional seas. Regarding available energy potential, the estimated changes in climate do not have direct impacts on the geographic distribution of potential regions for the energy industry (both wind and wave based), that is they pose no threat to this industry. Long-term changes in environmental conditions could however require adaptation of the aquaculture sector and especially of its exploitation areas. Opportunities for aquaculture expansion of the assessed species are identified. Possibilities for co-location of these activities are observed in the different climate scenarios. The evaluation of potential zones for the exploitation of marine renewable energy resources and offshore aquaculture represents a stepping-stone, useful for improving decision-making and assisting in the management of marine economies both in the short-term and in the long-term development of these sectors.

The ports sector is critical to global transport and trade. Climate change may compromise port operations, resulting in an increase in operational shutdowns and subsequent economic losses. Here, we present an analysis of historical global risk across the operations of 2,013 ports worldwide and the impacts under a high-end warming scenario, considering atmospheric and marine hazards, industry established operational thresholds, exposure and vulnerability. Increased coastal flooding and overtopping due to sea level rise, as well as the heat stress impacts of higher temperatures, are the main contributors to amplified risk. Ports located in the Pacific Islands, Caribbean Sea and Indian Ocean appear to be at extremely high risk by 2100, whereas those in the African Mediterranean and the Arabian Peninsula (Persian Gulf and Red Sea) are expected to experience very high risk. Estimating risks at the global scale cannot capture site-level details, but these results provide a benchmark for further research and decision-making. Global trade and transport depend on the resilience of the ports sector. Multi-hazard operational risks are estimated for 2,013 ports under historical climate and future warming; of the marine and atmospheric hazards considered, coastal flooding, wave overtopping and heat stress increase risk most.

The implementation of a quantum computer requires both to protect information from environmental noise and to implement quantum operations efficiently. Achieving this by a fully fault-tolerant platform, in which quantum gates are implemented within quantum-error corrected units, poses stringent requirements on the coherence and control of such hardware. A more feasible architecture could consist of connected memories, that support error-correction by enhancing coherence, and processing units, that ensure fast manipulations. We present here a supramolecular {Cr7Ni}–Cu system which could form the elementary unit of this platform, where the electronic spin 1/2 of {Cr7Ni} provides the processor and the naturally isolated nuclear spin 3/2 of the Cu ion is used to encode a logical unit with embedded quantum error-correction. We demonstrate by realistic simulations that microwave pulses allow us to rapidly implement gates on the processor and to swap information between the processor and the quantum memory. By combining the storage into the Cu nuclear spin with quantum error correction, information can be protected for times much longer than the processor coherence., The implementation of a quantum computer requires protecting of information from noise and the ability to perform quantum gates. We present a molecular architecture providing both these ingredients, via an electronic spin 1/2 processor and a nuclear spin 3/2 memory.

Understanding the hydrodynamic performance of floating energy converters is a complex challenge. Hence, physical modelling is necessary to evaluate the performance of innovative designs and validate them. The present paper shows the experimental work performed to validate a new floating semisubmersible structure which combines wave energy converters (3 Oscillating Water Columns, OWC) and wind harvesting (5 MW wind turbine). To characterize the global response of the platform, as well as the OWCs’ performance, an innovative wave tank testing campaign was carried out at the Cantabria Coastal and Ocean Basin (CCOB). The multi-use platform was characterized under the incidence of regular wave tests (with and without wind), operational sea states and survival sea states (combining waves, currents and wind). During the tests wind was reproduced with a portable wind generator and the wind turbine was simulated as a drag disk. The OWC air turbines were experimentally conceptualized by different diameter openings on the upper part of each OWC. This paper describes the experimental testing campaign carried out at the CCOB and presents the most significant experimental results obtained, such as natural periods, movements, loads on the mooring system or accelerations, which are representative of the performance of the multi-use platform presented.

In this work we pilot a methodology to value the annual coastal protection benefits provided by mangroves in the Philippines and identify where these natural coastal defenses deliver the greatest protection. This is the first rigorous, engineering-based, nationwide evaluation of the effectiveness of mangrove habitats as natural defenses. By comparing flood damages for scenarios with and without mangroves, the study estimates the socioeconomic benefits for protecting people and property, to inform conservation and disaster risk reduction policies. Without mangroves, flooding and damages to people, property and infrastructure in the Philippines would increase annually around 25%. These habitats reduce flooding to 613,500 people/year, 23% of whom live below the poverty line. They also avert damages to 1 billion US$/year in residential and industrial property. If mangroves were restored to their 1950 distribution, there would be additional benefits to 267,000 people annually, including 61,500 people below poverty and an additional 453 mill. US$ in avoided damages. Currently, mangroves prevent more than 1.7 billion US$ in damages for extreme events (1-in-50-year). Ultimately, rigorous economic estimates of critical ecosystem services like this will help the national government to integrate the value of mangroves to people, into their national accounting systems.

Global mean sea level rise and its acceleration are projected to aggravate coastal erosion over the 21st century, which constitutes a major challenge for coastal adaptation. Projections of shoreline retreat are highly uncertain, however, namely due to deeply uncertain mean sea level projections and the absence of consensus on a coastal impact model. An improved understanding and a better quantification of these sources of deep uncertainty are hence required to improve coastal risk management and inform adaptation decisions. In this work we present and apply a new extraprobabilistic framework to develop shoreline change projections of sandy coasts that allows consideration of intrinsic (or aleatory) and knowledge-based (or epistemic) uncertainties exhaustively and transparently. This framework builds upon an empirical shoreline change model to which we ascribe possibility functions to represent deeply uncertain variables. The model is applied to two local sites in Aquitaine (France) and Castellón (Spain). First, we validate the framework against historical shoreline observations and then develop shoreline change projections that account for possible (although unlikely) low-end and high-end mean sea level scenarios. Our high-end projections show for instance that shoreline retreats of up to 200m in Aquitaine and 130m in Castellón are plausible by 2100, while low-end projections revealed that 58 and 37m modest shoreline retreats, respectively, are also plausible. Such extended intervals of possible future shoreline changes reflect an ambiguity in the probabilistic description of shoreline change projections, which could be substantially reduced by better constraining sea level rise (SLR) projections and improving coastal impact models. We found for instance that if mean sea level by 2100 does not exceed 1m, the ambiguity can be reduced by more than 50%. This could be achieved through an ambitious climate mitigation policy and improved knowledge on ice sheets. This research has been supported by the BRGM, IHCantabria and the ERA4CS-ECLISEA project (grant no. 690462).

Adaptation requires planning strategies that consider the combined effect of climatic and non-climatic drivers, which are deeply uncertain. This uncertainty arises from many sources, cascades and accumulates in risk estimates. A prominent trend to incorporate this uncertainty in adaptation planning is through adaptive approaches such as the dynamic adaptive policy pathways (DAPP). We present a quantitative DAPP application for coastal erosion management to increase its utilisation in this field. We adopt an approach in which adaptation objectives and actions have continuous quantitative metrics that evolve over time as conditions change. The approach hinges on an adaptation information system that comprises hazard and impact modelling and systematic monitoring to assess changing risks and adaptation signals in the light of adaptation pathway choices. Using an elaborated case study, we force a shoreline evolution model with waves and storm surges generated by means of stochastic modelling from 2010 to 2100, considering uncertainty in extreme weather events, climate variability and mean sea-level rise. We produce a new type of adaptation pathways map showing a set of 90-year probabilistic trajectories that link changing objectives (e.g., no adaptation, limit risk increase, avoid risk increase) and nourishment placement over time. This DAPP approach could be applied to other domains of climate change adaptation bringing a new perspective in adaptive planning under deep uncertainty. Alexandra Toimil acknowledges the financial support from the FENIX Project funded by the Government of Cantabria. This research was also funded by the Spanish Government through the grant RISKCOADAPT (BIA2017-89401-R).

Sea-level rise (SLR) is a major concern for coastal hazards such as flooding and erosion in the decades to come. Lately, the value of high-end sea-level scenarios (HESs) to inform stakeholders with low-uncertainty tolerance has been increasingly recognized. Here, we provide high-end projections of SLR-induced sandy shoreline retreats for Europe by the end of the 21st century based on the conservative Bruun rule. Our HESs rely on the upper bound of the RCP8.5 scenario &ldquo, likely-range&rdquo, and on high-end estimates of the different components of sea-level projections provided in recent literature. For both HESs, SLR is projected to be higher than 1 m by 2100 for most European coasts. For the strongest HES, the maximum coastal sea-level change of 1.9 m is projected in the North Sea and Mediterranean areas. This translates into a median pan-European coastline retreat of 140 m for the moderate HES and into more than 200 m for the strongest HES. The magnitude and regional distribution of SLR-induced shoreline change projections, however, utterly depend on the local nearshore slope characteristics and the regional distribution of sea-level changes. For some countries, especially in Northern Europe, the impacts of high-end sea-level scenarios are disproportionally high compared to those of likely scenarios.

In this paper, an extended numerical analysis of the “confined-crest impact” (hereinafter referred as “C–CI”), induced by non-breaking waves on recurved parapet walls, is presented to better understand the physics and characteristics of this impulsive wave phenomenon, which significantly depends on the geometry of the parapet (here made by a sector of circumference) as well as on non-breaking wave steepness. A dimensional analysis of the forces has been carried out and used to analyse the results obtained by numerical CFD computations. The numerical simulations, performed for different radii of curvature, opening angles and incoming wave characteristics (changing both the wave height H and wave period T), have shown that the maximum impulsive pressure: (i) takes place on the top of the recurved parapet and decreases moving towards the S W L , where it tends to vanish; (ii) tends to decrease as the radii of curvature and the incoming wave characteristics (wave height H and period T) increase. However, this reduction in the maximum pressure, is always accompanied by an increase of the forces acting on the recurved parapet and a decrease of the wave overtopping volumes. Moreover, the maximum wave induced pressures have been examined by means of regular and irregular wave conditions in order to analyse the possibility of schematising the effects (i.e. forces) of an irregular sea state with those of a regular one, providing an equivalent force and therefore saving computational time. Based on the new results, a schematization of the pressure diagram induced by the C–CI impact has been proposed, used to extend the Goda-Takahashi pressure diagrams, valid for vertical walls in non-breaking wave conditions, including recurved walls.

Shoreline recession due to the combined effect of waves, tides and sea level rise is increasingly becoming a major threat to beaches, one of the main assets of seaside tourist destinations. Given such an uncertain future climate and the climate-sensitive nature of many decisions that affect the long term, there is a growing need to shift current approaches towards probabilistic frameworks able to take uncertainty into account. This study contributes to climate change research by exploring the effects of erosion on the recreation value of beaches as a key indicator in the tourism sector. The new paradigm relates eroded sand to geographic and socioeconomic aspects and other physical settings, including beach type, quality and accesses, yielding monetary estimates of risk in probabilistic terms. Additionally, we look into policy implications regarding tourism management, adaptation and risk reduction. The methodology was implemented in 57 beaches in Asturias (north of Spain).

This paper presents a methodology to evaluate the influence of downtime on the long-term energy yield of a floating wind farm. It is based on the definition and integration of three models: a discrete event model, which simulates failures and reparation times, a floating wind turbine model, which simulates platform motions and operational stops, and a wind farm model, which models wake effects between turbines. The methodology is applied to a wind farm composed by ten floating turbines and located off the coast of Cantabria, Spain. Results indicate that downtime affects significantly the mean energy yield of the farm, which decreases linearly with the mean failure rate, mean reparation time and probability of exceedance of the operational thresholds for the considered case studies.

Although mangroves reduce the daily risk of flood for millions of people, it is still difficult to estimate the protection they provide for variable wave conditions and forest characteristics. This aspect is crucial for the promotion of conservation and restoration of mangrove forests and for the estimation of how the coastal protection service they provide will evolve over time. This paper presents evidence and a new method for the estimation of the relationship between mangrove forest age and wave attenuation. The forest under analysis is characterised by the age of the Rhizophora mangrove trees, where consideration is given to the differences in the maturity of its individual trees and the density of the forest. Environmental conditions are defined by water levels and incoming wave height and period. A set of empirical and analytical relations expressing wave attenuation as a function of the submerged solid volume fraction (SVF) are presented. Changes is tree morphology and forest characteristics with forest age, as well as the contribution of the tree canopy, are taken into account. Results indicate that, after restoration, it may take only 5 years to obtain a forest's maximum coastal protection capacity. Additionally, such capacity appears to be maintained throughout the forest's lifetime with minor variations, provided the forest is not affected by any conditions altering its health, such as extreme wave events or anthropogenic action that may modify its habitat. Our findings present a new approach to quantifying the protection provided by mangroves without requiring any calibration. These findings can also assist in planning mangrove restoration and assessing associated benefits by providing the incorporation of nature-based solutions or ecosystem-based adaptation into coastal management.

In the context of growing concern about the threat of flooding posed by climate change in coastal areas, the Spanish plan for coastal adaptation to climate change gave rise to stringent requirements on risk consequence estimates at the regional scale O (100 km). Within this framework, we propose a methodology that combines high space-time resolution climate information (reanalysis databases and projections), local data on exposure that accounts for the most relevant sectors, site-specific vulnerability functions, and flood risk consequence valuation, gridded at 5 m. This approach involves efficient multiple-forcing flood modeling, in which the connection between climate change and potential inundation is primarily established through the definition of a total water level index. This research tackles challenging issues, including the importance of incorporating the effects of existing coastal defenses and local wave effects in port areas, dealing with data at different spatial scales and sectors in an integrated way, and the impact of discounting. The results provide insights into the possible consequences of inaction for a range of future scenarios based on changes in climate and socio-economics over the most relevant sectors. With the goal of prioritizing adaptive action and the efficient assignment of funds, we propose a weight-based integration of the sectoral value-at-risk through the application of Bayesian techniques and expert judgment. The methodology described here was applied to a pilot case study on the coast of Asturias in northern Spain.

This study presents the design, development, scheme and field validation of an early-alert ocean wave system. It is designed to automate, improve, analyse, design and manage the daily construction activities of any harbour at construction stage. The objective is threefold: a) maximise construction safety, with regards to well-known hazards which occur during construction, especially breakwaters that interact with high-energy sea states, b) optimise the transport, by means of specialised vessels, of the refill material, and c) to minimise the construction delay and disruption on a daily basis, thanks to short-term construction forecasting (96 h). The system, known as PATO, offers short-term sea states characteristics, at any point near harbour structures, and relevant wave-structure interaction parameters at any harbour construction stage. The system is able to assist harbour project managers by providing accurate ocean wave data through a user-friendly interface.

Historic coastal structures have played a key role in small- to medium-size ports, being the driving force for the local development of coastal communities. Because coastal managers require reliable risk-based analysis of the whole life cycle of these coastal structures, previous lifetimes should be studied. This is a differentiating factor with respect to the newly built breakwaters. For this reason, in this work, a methodology for assessing how the hydraulic performance of an expired lifetime has evolved over the years is presented. It is performed following a probabilistic approach due to the uncertainty related to both the involved variables (wave climate, geometrical and structural breakwater variables) and the hydraulic response of the structure. The first ones are characterized by reliable probability distribution functions. The second ones are characterized by reliable formulae for the analysis of the hydraulic response. However, their non-conventional designs located in shallow-water locations require site-dependent formulae. To overcome this problem, a novel methodology to apply CFD numerical models is presented. Finally, it is integrated in a high-resolution time-dependent probabilistic methodology which takes into account the stochastic behaviour of all the involved variables, coastal and structural processes with a good uncertainty level. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Environmental loading of heritage structures’.

Coastal development and climate change are dramatically increasing the risks of flooding, erosion, and extreme weather events. Coral reefs and other coastal ecosystems act as natural defenses against coastal hazards, but their degradation increases risk to people and property. Environmental degradation, however, has rarely been quantified as a driver of coastal risk. In Quintana Roo, Mexico, a region on the Mexican Caribbean coast with an annual tourism economy of 10 billion USD, coral reefs constitute a natural barrier against flooding from hurricanes. This study spatially quantifies the risk reduction benefits of the Mesoamerican Reef in Quintana Roo for people, buildings, and hotel infrastructure. The risk reduction benefits are substantial. For example, the reefs prevented 43% additional damage during Hurricane Dean (2007) and provide nowadays hazard risk reduction for 4.3% of the people, 1.9% of the built capital, and 2.4% of the hotel infrastructure, per year. The annual benefits are estimated in 4,600 people, 42 million USD damage prevention for buildings, and 20.8 million USD for hotel infrastructure. The study also compares the risk reduction of coral reefs with (i) the protection offered by dunes and (ii) the increase in coastal risk from sea-level rise. The risk reduction of dunes is more critical where there are no coral reefs offshore and for small return-periods storms. Sea-level rise, however, will make the more frequent storms more impactful and will drive significant increases in annual expected damages across the region. However, we demonstrate that, in coral reef environments, the contribution of reef degradation to coastal risk is larger than the expected increase in risk from sea level rise. However, the spatial distribution of the risk reduction benefits from reefs differs for people and infrastructure, and in particular for hotels, which receive the most protection from reefs. Furthermore, many sections present larger benefits than the typical costs of restoration. This valuation makes a compelling case for protecting and maintaining this natural infrastructure for its risk reduction service, but also allows the development of piloting innovative strategies, such as risk finance and insurance strategies, that can align environmental and risk management goals.

Estimation of the flow energy dissipation induced by an ecosystem that accounts for its characteristics (i.e. biomechanical properties, morphology, density) and the incident hydrodynamic conditions is crucial if ecosystem-based coastal protection measurements want to be implemented. Characterization of a vegetated ecosystem by measuring leaf traits, biomechanical properties of plants and the number of individuals per unit area involves a lot of effort and is case-specific. Standing biomass can be a unique variable defining the flow energy attenuation capacity of the ecosystem. To explore its relation to the induced energy attenuation on the flow, a new set of experiments using real vegetation with contrasting morphology and biomechanical properties, and subjected to different incident flow conditions is presented. The obtained standing biomass-attenuation relationships will help to quantify the expected coastal protection provided by different vegetated ecosystems based on their standing biomass and the flow conditions.Recorded Presentation from the vICCE (YouTube Link): https://youtu.be/-qaKkBWZApk

The use of CFD for numerical representation of laboratory wave flume and basins, commonly known as numerical wave tanks (NWT), has become more popular in recent years with the aim of improving knowledge in the field of wave-structure interaction (WSI), both fixed and floating, due to advances that have been made in numerical modelling, mainly with the reproduction of three dimensional problems. The use of this technique is displacing even traditional approaches based on the use of potential flow equations, due to the versatility provided by the CFD approach, which allows considering nonlinear interactions between structures and waves, and above all, extreme events such as wave breaking. However, implementation of these models as a complementary tool to physical modeling facilities is not yet standardized and requires further development to hybridize these two techniques, numerical and experimental, in order to obtain a better knowledge of physical processes. Implementation still requires overcoming existing modeling limitations and the additional steps to be taken focus on the following areas are: a) numerically mirror wave generation and active/passive absorption in physical installations; b) numerical resolution of WSI problems, which to date depends on each WSI case; c) computational cost, which may be the bottleneck for NWT implementation; and, finally, the most important feature that is where the added value of the hybrid approach lies, d) the exchange of information between the laboratory measurements and the results of the numerical simulations in order to obtain a better understanding of WSI problems. This paper will present an analysis of the main aspects described above for the implementation of hybrid techniques for the study of WSI problems (floating and fixed). The latest advances in modeling developed with IHFOAM solver (ihfoam.ihcantabria.com), and physical modeling procedures to link laboratory and numerical tools will be presented. The main objective is establishing a standard procedure to implement this technique in any physical installation.Recorded Presentation from the vICCE (YouTube Link): https://youtu.be/6mAQccSrREM

Focused on offshore wind energy operation and maintenance applications, this work presents a detailed accessibility analysis of the North Sea. After a review of existing normative dedicated to inspection and access of offshore wind turbines, a rigorous mathematical formulation of relevant accessibility parameters is given by means of the set theory. Long-term and high-resolution metocean data are extracted from reanalysis databases and used to evaluate spatial and temporal variability of such parameters. Respectively restricted by significant wave height and mean wind speed, access by workboat and helicopter is evaluated. Being affected by both wave height and wind speed. Access by offshore crane is also analyzed. It resulted that the UK coast and the southern region of the North Sea are highly accessible, while the coast of Denmark and Norway undergoes more severe metocean conditions. This is, however, balanced by a higher wind resource. Moreover, a strong seasonality is ascertained, together with a drastic reduction of accessibility during daytime in a vast part of the basin. Accessibility during daytime in winter and autumn is very difficult for the whole North Sea. Among the studied farms, Dogger Bank is by far the one with the highest resource and lowest accessibility, while Thorntonbank III the one with the lowest resource and highest accessibility. In addition, accessibility is non-linearly related to wind speed and wave height limits chosen for the access strategies covered. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Offshore wind energy is moving towards a future where the main challenge is to cope with the increasing water depth needed to access more and better wind resources. One of the first steps to be undertaken is the development of floating structures to support either wind turbines or measurement devices for the proper characterization of wind energy resources. The use of floating devices for measuring wind speed involves a number of uncertainties not presented by seabed fixed systems. These sources of uncertainty or error are present both in instantaneous wind measurements and averaged (10 min or hourly) values because of (i) variability in the measurement height, (ii) the tilt of the anemometer and (iii) the relative velocity between the anemometer and the wind, among others. In this paper, a methodology for assessing the error in the wind measurement characterization because of the movement of a floating meteorological mast is presented. By the numerical simulation of a floating mast, the short- and long-term error in the characterization of the wind at different heights has been evaluated. In general, the error because of the tilt can reach up to 80% of the total error; the error because of the variation of the vertical position of the anemometer reaches values of up to 15% in some cases; moreover, the error associated with the relative velocity between the anemometer and the wind, for averaged values, is significantly less. Finally, it can be concluded that the total error is lower than 0.5% for 10 min averaged wind speed of up to 24 m/s. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

This paper presents a methodology to assess the walk-to-work accessibility of a floating wind turbine. The system composed by the vessel and the platform is modelled in the frequency domain as a rigid, possibly constrained multibody system. Non-linear actions, such mooring and viscous forces are linearised. Extreme maxima for the response variables are calculated assuming that crests are Rayleigh distributed. Two vessels are studied: a catamaran equipped with fender, and a supply vessel mounting a motion-compensated gangway. For the catamaran, accessibility is possible when no-slip conditions between the vessel fender and the ladder landing platform are ensured. For the supply vessel, accessibility is possible when the gangway motions are below the hydraulic system compensation limits. The catamaran is able to handle wave heights up to 2 m, provided that it can work under head sea conditions and take advantage of the shielding effect of the platform. The supply vessel allows personnel transfer with wave heights up to 5 m, but it is important that roll motions are not excited. The proposed methodology and the calculated maps are a valuable source of information for decision-making during personnel transfer to and from offshore floating platforms.

In this work an analysis of suitable locations for the development of wave energy farms is carried out based on representative operation and maintenance parameters. The analysis is applied globally on the basis of long-term global climate data set. Availability and accessibility levels are assessed first by considering different wave height thresholds. Secondly, the O&M access limits are quantified in terms of the weather windows and waiting period between them considering different windows lengths and scenarios. Finally, the O&M cost per kW h is calculated for a wave energy converter based on a point absorber concept. O&M costs has been calculated following the methodology proposed on Guanche et al. (2014). As expected, results show that locations with mild wave climate have very low O&M costs per kW h. Some areas with high wave resource, such as Scotland, Spain or Nova Scotia present reasonable O&M costs compared to the power production in these areas. However, other locations with high resource like Chile or Australia resulted in extremely high O&M costs due to the inaccessibility of these sites during long periods of time.

This paper presents an innovative vertical breakwater cross-section integrating an overtopping wave energy converter, named OBREC-V, and the analysis of its hydraulic performance and stability response to hydraulic loading. The structure is composed of a vertically-faced caisson with a sloping ramp on the top, a reservoir and a set-back crown-wall. The analysis of the structure is carried out by performing numerical simulations based on the Volume-Averaged Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (VARANS) equations. The numerical simulations are performed to compare the performance of a traditional and innovative vertical caissons under the action of irregular waves, in terms of wave reflection, overtopping and wave acting forces. Results show that the reflection coefficients are lower than those computed in front of the traditional breakwater, with a reduction of up to the 40%. New formulations are proposed to better estimate the reflection coefficient and the wave overtopping at the rear side of the structure taking into account the non-conventional geometry of the device. The analysis of the forces indicate that the non-conventional geometry of the innovative OBREC-caisson increases the overall stability of the structure. The values of the safety factor against sliding, Cs, on innovative caissons are similar or greater than those calculated on the traditional vertical structure for almost all the tests. The downward force on the ramp and reservoir and the time lag between the vertical and horizontal forces, lead to a significant reduction of the maximum destabilizing forces Fs in the innovative breakwater, whose values range between 60 and 80% of the ones computed on the traditional structure. The obtained results show the co-benefits, in terms of functionality and hydraulic stability, that an OBREC-V entails with respect to a traditional vertical breakwater.

This work represents the first attempt to study the behavior of sea level extreme events nearshore using satellite altimetry data. A novel approach based on the application of a nonstationary extreme model to nontidal residual monthly maxima from remote data is presented. With the aim of countering the lack of accuracy, an extreme scale factor to correct satellite data is defined. The extreme scale factor depends on local morphology and its definition makes use of the information provided by 14 tide gauges along the North American East Coast. The methodology is validated using eight additional tide gauge records along the study region. Low differences on values associated to high return periods using satellite and tide gauge data input are found for all the validated locations. Besides, a regional study of the climate variability of extreme sea levels from satellite is also presented. The found climate patterns strongly agree with the historical climate variations from in situ data. Results show a great potential of this approach, especially at those locations where in situ information is not available. The work reported here was partially supported by the Spanish Government through the grant PORTIO (BIA2015-70644-R); project ECLISEA, part of ERA4CS, an ERA-NET initiated by JPI Climate, and funded by UC-IHC, HZG, BRGM, NCSRD, and CNRS and cofunding by the European Union (Grant 690462), and the US DOD Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP Project RC-2644).

A new solver for wave and structure interaction is used for three-dimensional simulation of an Oscillating Water Column (OWC). The CFD model solves the Reynolds Averaged Navier–Stokes equations for two incompressible phases (water and air). Laboratory experiments are conducted on a small scale to validate the numerical results. Air and water pressures and velocities as well as the free surface evolution inside and outside the chamber are modeled with notably good agreement. The model is further used to improve understanding of relevant processes and shows potential for use detailed analysis. Even if the experimental problem analyzed had a two-dimensional behavior, the three dimensional domain of the wave flume was numerically simulated in order to prove the capabilities of OpenFOAM ® .

In the present paper, the methods provided in literature to compute the convolution integral in Cummins’ equation are compared. Direct computation of the convolution integral is revised to avoid truncation errors and to save computational cost. The three methods compared are the direct computation of the convolution integral, the approximation of the integral by a state space and the approximation of the impulse response function by Prony’s coefficients. These methods are used to simulate the movement of the water inside an oscillating water column (OWC) and a decay test in heave of a spar buoy. Cummins’ equation results in a system of ordinary differential equations with all the methods. All systems are computed using the same numerical scheme obtaining a fair comparison of the computational cost involved in each method. The results of the OWC are compared against CFD results and the results of the buoy against laboratory experiments. Results obtained by direct computation of the convolution integral show sensitivity to the time step used to precompute the impulse response function, while using state space or Prony’s approximations are dependent on the set of frequencies required for the identification of their coefficients. State space and Prony’s approximations evaluate the radiation force, including it in the matrix of the system, while direct integration computes it outside of the matrix. This modification in the matrix makes these approximations more sensitive to the data used to evaluate the radiation force.

This study evaluates the influence of wave climate tunability on the performance of a generic Wave Energy Converter (WEC) for different climate scenarios. The generic WEC is assumed to be composed of an array of heaving, floating cylinders. In this study, two natural periods for the cylinders of 4 s and 8 s (typical of enclosed seas and the mean Atlantic swell, respectively) and a location-tunable cylinder are considered to evaluate the influence of tuning on the power performance of the cylinder. The WEC power matrix is computed using a frequency domain model, and the performance of the WEC is evaluated along the global coasts; the met-ocean data originated from the global reanalysis database (GOW) from Reguero et al. (2012). The performance of the WEC is evaluated using two parameters: the capture width ratio (CWR), which evaluates the efficiency of the converter at each location, and the kW/Ton (KWT) parameter, which evaluates the efficiency of the converter using “economic” terms. Tuning a converter for each location displayed a positive CWR; however, the KWT was low after WEC tuning because of the weight of the structures required to tune the converter that experiences high peak periods.

Wind resource availability determines the financial performance of wind farms as it is directly related to production. Offshore wind developers require great investments to design, build, operate and dismantle offshore wind farms. Furthermore, the investments in the offshore floating wind sector are expected to increase in the future. Because of that, the assessment of the variability of the investments, mainly because of the wind resource variability, seems to be a crucial step in the design methodology. Consequently, a flexible methodology for supporting offshore floating wind farm optimal location assessment is presented in this paper. The proposed methodology is focused on including the offshore wind resource variability and its influence on the power production of floating wind farms, as well as on the main financial indicators (internal rate of return, net present value, pay-back period and cost of energy). The methodology is applied to the north coast of Spain, and it allows to identify the most promising sites for offshore wind farms deployment. Differences on the cost of energy up to 100% can be found in the area under study. The methodology proposed has been conceived to be site-independent and applied at any spatial and time horizon. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Offshore wind industry needs to improve wind assessment in order to decrease the uncertainty associated to wind resource and its influence on financial requirements. Here, several features related to offshore wind resource assessment are discussed, such as input wind data, estimation of long-term and extreme wind statistics, the wind profile and climate variations.This work proposes an analytical method to characterize wind resource. Final product is a wind chart containing useful wind information that can be applied to any offshore sites. Using long-term time series of meteorological variables (e.g. wind speed and direction at different heights), the methodology is applied to five pilot sites in different countries along European Atlantic corridor and it is used to describe and compare offshore wind behavior.

In this work, an analysis of the uncertainty that influences wave energy farm financial returns is carried out. Firstly, a methodology to analyze the financial uncertainty through cash flow analysis is developed. A reconstruction of a set of power production life-cycles is made based on the methodology proposed in Ref. [1] using a selection and an interpolation technique. This set of lifecycles allowed to obtain the statistical distributions of the main financial indicators (IRR, NPV and PBP). The high variability of these parameters is explained by the climate variability. Therefore, for the economic study of a wave energy project the influence of the climate conditions is demonstrated and for this purpose a long climate data series is needed. Finally, a second uncertainty source related with the political and legislation environment is studied, focusing on the effect of feed in tariff. This sensitivity analysis of the feed in tariffs is made based on cash-flow algorithm. Current feed in tariffs seemed insufficient in order to get profitable wave energy projects and also an increase in feed in tariff resulted in an increase of variability of financial indicators. Therefore an increase in feed in tariff is not recommended for early stage technologies. Finally, learning curve was also included in this investigation and it appeared as a key parameter in order to get cost effective financial returns.

This paper presents a study of the factors that influence array layout on wave energy farms. The WEC considered is a two-body heave converter extracted from Babarit et al. (2012) . Simulations were run through a time domain model from de Andres et al. (2013) with irregular waves considering different sea states. Factors analyzed in this paper are array layout, WEC separation, number of WECs and wave directionality. Results show that wave directionality is very important in order to achieve constructive interference. When looking at the number of WECs the conclusion is that as the larger the number of WECs, more interactions are possible and therefore, the higher the interaction factor is. Regarding array layout, triangle and square configurations were found to be similar and the efficiency of each one depends on the most probable peak period. Separating distance was found to be a key factor and L 10 / 2 was set as the optimal one. Finally, wave climate was classified in different subtypes around the globe. The optimum layout in these sites was assessed. The influence of directionality was studied and the triangular configuration was found to be the most favorable for multidirectional climates while square configurations were most adequate in unidirectional climates.

A methodology to identify the state-space matrix and the vectors which solves the Cummins equations directly using free surface temporal series, obtained from laboratory or CFD codes, avoiding the use of potential flow solvers, is presented. The new methodology is applied to the solution of the piston-like movement of an Oscillating Water Column (OWC) moving in heave, assuming that sloshing is negligible, to incorporate flow effects that are not captured with traditional methods using potential flow solvers. The identification of the state-space components is done in two steps. The first step uses the solution of the state-space for decay tests, no forcing terms, obtaining a possible solution. This solution is used in the second step to solve regular waves, nonzero forcing term and no initial condition. The solution obtained in the second step is the component of the state-space that characterizes the movement of the OWC. The numerical series used to compute the solution are obtained using IH2VOF in this study, but they can be obtained by means of other sources, such as different numerical codes or laboratory measurements. Once the solution is found, the resulting state-space is validated against numerical results of IH2VOF for regular and irregular wave trains.

In this paper and its companion (Higuera et al., 2014--this issue), the latest advancements regarding Volume-averaged Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (VARANS) are developed in OpenFOAM® and applied. A new solver, called IHFOAM, is programmed to overcome the limitations and errors in the original OpenFOAM® code, having a rigorous implementation of the equations. Turbulence modelling is also addressed for k-ϵ and k-ω SST models within the porous media. The numerical model is validated for a wide range of cases including a dam break and wave interaction with porous structures both in two and three dimensions. In the second part of this paper the model is applied to simulate wave interaction with a real structure, using an innovative hybrid (2D–3D) methodology.

This paper and its companion Higuera et al. (2014--this issue) introduce the formulation of Volume-Averaged Reynolds-Averaged Navier–Stokes (VARANS) equations in OpenFOAM® to simulate two-phase flow through porous media. This new implementation, so-called IHFOAM, corrects the limitations of the original OpenFOAM® code. An innovative hybrid methodology (2D–3D) is presented to optimize the simulation time needed to assess the three-dimensional effects of wave interaction with coastal structures. The combined use of a 2D and a 3D model enables the practical application of the 3D VARANS code to simulate real cases, contributing to a significant speed-up. This is highly convenient and especially suitable for non-conventional structures, as it overcomes the limitations inherent to applying semi-empirical formulations out of their range or 2D simulations only. A detailed study of stability and overtopping for a 3D porous high-mound breakwater at prototype scale subjected to oblique irregular (random) waves is carried out. Pressure around the caissons, overtopping discharge rate and turbulent magnitudes are presented in three dimensions. The mean pressure laws present a high degree of accordance with the formulation provided by Goda–Takahashi. Furthermore, local effects due to three-dimensional processes play a significant role, especially close to the breakwater head.

A simplified time-domain model for a fixed detached Oscillating Water Column (OWC) device is presented as a first step towards modeling a floating multi-chamber OWC device. The motion of a floating body in the time-domain is expressed by Cummins integro-differential equation, and based on it, water mass motion inside the chamber has been modeled here as a piston-like motion. Radiation, hydrostatic, excitation and viscous forces have been considered, as well as the added mass of the water in the chamber and the effect of the air pressure inside it. The equation of the floating body in the time domain has been approximated by a state-space method, which comes from the extension of the state-space system corresponding to the convolution integral of the radiation force. Experimental data have been used for model calibration and validation. Furthermore, the model has also been validated with a widely used Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model (IH-2VOF). These show that the model presented is reliable and computationally efficient allowing for massive simulations for a statistical design or economic feasibility studies.

This study presents a methodology to obtain the power performance of a two-body heave converter. First, the methodology relies on a time domain model which represents the motion of the two bodies throughout the time. This time model was built substituting the entire equation system with a state-space system, thereby avoiding the convolution integral of the radiation force. This technique is demonstrated to be a reliable and very efficient method in terms of speed. Then, based on this model the instantaneous power of the device can be obtained. The performance of the device is shown through the power production matrix and the 60 year series power production statistics. This long series is obtained by means of using the MaxDiss selection technique in order to compute only the power of the most representative sea states and the Radial Basis Function (RBF) interpolation technique which interpolates in order to obtain the complete power series.

When considering the threat of rising sea-levels, one must take into account not only the changes in the Mean Sea-Level, but also storm surges and changes in extreme events which may also have a bearing on coastal problems. In this study, we combine different components of the total sea-level (astronomical tide, monthly mean sea-level and storm surges) to explain changes detected in the region of Latin America and the Caribbean. Methods based on non-stationary extreme value analysis were applied to storm surge and total sea elevations monthly maxima for the last six decades, while long-term trends in Mean Sea-level were computed from both local regression and a trend-EOF technique. In addition, the relative importance of each factor contributing to the total sea-level is explored by means of defining each statistical distribution. The analysis demonstrates that concerns should be focused on the different components of sea-level in the various areas of the region. For example, changes in the storm surge levels are a key stressor in the Rio de la Plata area, while the increase in the extreme total sea-levels in the tropical region and the influence of inter-annual variability on its western coast are the prominent factors. Results show that a clear correspondence between Mean Sea-Level and the Nino3 climate index can be found through a simple regression model, explaining more than 65% of the variance for a representative location on the Peruvian coast.

The present paper and its companion (Higuera et al., 2012) introduce OpenFOAM® as a tool to consider for coastal engineering applications as it solves 3D domains and considers two-phase flow. In this first paper, OpenFOAM® utilities are presented and the free surface flow solvers are analysed. The lack of specific boundary conditions for realistic wave generation is overcome with their implementation combined with active wave absorption. Wave generation includes all the widely used theories plus specific piston-type wavemaker replication. Also standalone active wave absorption implementation is explained for several formulations, all of which are applicable to 3D cases. Active wave absorption is found to enhance stability by decreasing the energy of the system and to correct the increasing water level on long simulations. Furthermore, it is advantageous with respect to dissipation zones such as sponge layers, as it does not increase the computational domain. The results vary depending on the theory (2D, Quasi-3D and 3D) but overall performance of the implemented methods is very good. The simulations and results of the present paper are purely theoretical. Comparisons with laboratory data are presented in the second paper (Higuera et al., 2012).

In the present work, the OpenFOAM® newly developed wave generation and active absorption boundary condition presented in the companion paper (Higuera et al., submitted for publication) is validated. In order to do so the simulation of some of the most interesting physical processes in coastal engineering is carried out and comparisons with relevant experimental benchmark cases presented. Water waves are found to be generated realistically and agreement between laboratory and numerical data is very high regarding wave breaking, run up and undertow currents.

The mathematical modeling of the interaction of water waves with porous coastal structures has continuously been among the most relevant challenges in coastal engineering research and practice. Finding a tool to better predict essential processes, relevant to the functionality and stability of breakwaters and jetties, and how they are affected by permeability, has been hampered by computational limitations that are being overcome. Over the last 60 years, the Journal of Waterway, Port, Coast, and Ocean Engineering has witnessed gradual developments leading from linearized solutions based on wave theories and constant friction coefficients to very sophisticated Eulerian or Lagrangian solvers of the Navier-Stokes (NS) equations, including turbulence within porous media. Today, although not without difficulty, the first steps are being made toward addressing the simulation of a fully three-dimensional interaction of complete sea states with porous structures at prototype scale. In this paper, after po...

Climate change is challenging the current worldwide model of power generation. In this sense, European Union is promoting a deep transition collected in the 20-20-20 targets and the 2050 Energy Roadmap. These adjectives must be achieved by developing the use of clean, carbon-free energies, as it is the case of the renewableenergies and in particular of the ocean energy. The main problem with these kinds of energies is to reach a commercially mature stage so they can compete with conventional power sources. Therefore, it is crucial to reduce generation costs and increase the efficiency of the existing devices. With this regard, the work presents the modelling and experimental validation of the capture chamber of an Oscillating Water Column (OWC)-based powerplant. Although the study of the turbine and the generator may be considered a quite well-known matter, the control-oriented modelling of the capture chamber still deserves a further study to improve the power generation. In this work, a model obtained analytically of the OWC chamber is developed and numerically implemented. The model proposed is also validated and affords excellent results.

A complete hydrodynamic study of a Multi Use Platform designed to harvest energy from waves and wind is presented. The steps given in the study, and presented in this paper are: (i) the design of the platform, (ii) the laboratory tests performed at the Cantabria Coastal and Ocean Basin, (iii) the development of a new in-house time domain numerical model that integrates all components and (iv) the first validation cases of the numerical model. The development of time domain numerical model that coupled the behaviour of the platform and the OWCs based in Cummins equation is presented. The model includes nonlinear friction forces and a quasi-static approach to model the mooring system. The obtained system is extended to include the variation of the pressure inside each chamber. The effect of the wind turbine in the movements and power production of the platform is studied using also a quasi-static approach.

There is a growing interest from offshore and energy industry towards floating wind turbines. Since these systems are exposed to harsh metocean conditions, accessibility for inspection and maintenance purposes becomes of primary importance for a safe and cost-effective long-term operation. It is here proposed a methodology for evaluating the accessibility of a floating wind platform, by means of walk-to-work vessels. Two access means are considered: a catamaran equipped with fender and an offshore supply vessels with a motion-compensated gangway. The system composed by the platform and the vessel is modelled as a constrained multi-body system in the frequency domain. This allows to calculate transfer functions for the vessel motions and the contact forces. For given a short-term sea state the maximum crest height of a response variable is calculated assuming that crests heights are Rayleigh distributed, and compared to some threshold to determine whether the platform is accessible or not. For the catamaran, access is possible when the fender does not slip against the landing structure mounted on the floating platform; for the supply vessel, when the relative motions at the gangway tip do not exceed the compensation limits of the hydraulic system. Accessibility is calculated for a sample semisubmersible wind turbine located off the coast of Portugal using hindcast data for the period 1980–2013. Findings indicate that the catamaran and the supply vessel can ensure access for 20% and 76% of the time respectively. However, results are strictly dependent on the vessel types and the walk-to-work constraints.

Over the last decades, population densities in coastal areas have strongly increased. At the same time, many intertidal coastal ecosystems that provide valuable services in terms of coastal protection have greatly degraded. As a result, coastal defense has become increasingly dependent on man-made engineering solutions. Ongoing climate change processes such as sea-level rise and increased storminess, require a rethinking of current coastal defense practices including the development of innovative and cost-effective ways to protect coastlines. Integrating intertidal coastal ecosystems within coastal defense schemes offers a promising way forward. In this perspective, we specifically aim to (1) provide insight in the conditions under which ecosystems may be valuable for coastal protection, (2) discuss which might be the most promising intertidal ecosystems for this task and (3) identify knowledge gaps that currently hamper application and hence need attention from the scientific community. Ecosystems can contribute most to coastal protection by wave attenuation in areas with relatively small tidal amplitudes, and/or where intertidal areas are wide. The main knowledge gap hampering application of intertidal ecosystems within coastal defense schemes is lack in ability to account quantitatively for long-term ecosystem dynamics. Such knowledge is essential, as this will determine both the predictability and reliability of their coastal defense function. Solutions integrating intertidal ecosystems in coastal defense schemes offer promising opportunities in some situations, but require better mechanistic understanding of ecosystem dynamics in space and time to enable successful large-scale application. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.

In this work, it is evaluated the accessibility of a floating platform, by means of a catamaran vessel equipped with a fender. The two bodies are modelled as a constrained multi-body system in the frequency domain. Transfer functions are calculated for the motions and forces of the system. Access is possible when no slip conditions occur at the fender, and when the relative rotations between the two bodies are within certain tolerance limits. Four response variables are defined to impose such conditions. In a short-term sea state the extreme maximum crest height of these variables is computed, assuming that response crest heights follow a Rayleigh distribution. Each of the extreme values is compared to a specific threshold, to determine whether access is possible or not. Accessibility is calculated for a sample platform located off the coast of Scotland using hindcast data for the period 1980-2013. Average accessibility resulted to be 23.7%. A strong seasonality is ascertained, together with a large variation of accessibility, due to the variability of wave climate. The authors would like to acknowledge the projects “OceaNET”, which received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement no 607656, and “Plataformas multiuso para aplicaciones offshore” of the University of Cantabria (code: 56.JS05.64061).

Numerical modeling is a prediction tool useful for the design of brine discharge configurations and for environmental impact assessments, to prevent the potential impacts of brine in marine environments. Among the existing approaches of governing equations, dimensional analysis formulas and integration models are usually applied to brine discharge simulations, as is the case of the most used commercial tools for modeling brine discharges. Simulation with computational fluid mechanics (CFDs) advanced models has not yet been implemented and only some research studies are available in the literature. In order to improve the knowledge related to the use and degree of feasibility and reliability of these approaches for the modeling of brine discharges, an exhaustive investigation has been carried out, also including validation with high-quality experimental data. An analysis of the most used commercial models—CORMIX, VISUAL PLUMES, and VISJET—has been carried out focusing on brine discharges. As a res...

Desalination has gained importance as an alternative water source. Brine effluent is a sub-product of desalination and can have negative effects on marine ecosystems. Numerical modelling is a prediction tool useful for the design of discharge configurations and for environmental impact assessment. The models CORMIX, VISUAL PLUMES and VISJET can be used for simulating negatively buoyant jets arising from brine discharges. A detailed analysis of the major assumptions, capabilities, limitations and reliability of these models is presented. Some important conclusions and recommendations have been elucidated. In a companion paper [1], an exhaustive validation of these commercial tools is carried out against experimental data found in the literature, focusing on brine jets discharged into both stagnant and dynamic environments. These two papers represent global research of the state of the art and the degree of reliability of existing commercial tools, using the most reliable experimental data available, and provide useful information for the technical and scientific communities. As such, they aim to improve the design and modelling of brine discharges. The conclusions outlined in the paper will improve the quality of environmental impact assessments of desalination projects and reduce the uncertainty associated with the use of numerical models.