Search

A state-of-the-art, in terms of spatio-temporal resolution (about 10 km and on a hourly basis) and temporal span (35 years), wave hindcast is exploited to update existing assessments of wave energy potential in the Mediterranean Sea. The hindcast, covering the period 1979-2013, has been obtained using WavewatchIII with calibrated source-term parameters recently proposed by L. Mentaschi et al. (2015) [1]. The main advantage of such a calibration is that it takes into account the peculiarity of the Mediterranean basin with respect to other calibrations carried out in the oceans. The high resolution allowed to perform a detailed analysis of wave energy potential characteristics providing information on seasonal and longer term variability necessary for reliable and optimal design of wave energy conversion devices. As a result, the identification of areas where the mean wave power reaches values of the order of 10 kW/m clearly emerge. However, these regions are not necessarily optimal in relation to the efficiency of energy extraction, due to possible relevant time variation of the energy availability. The high temporal resolution allows to address issues related to the time variability of the available resource and thus to provide a complete set of statistical information to carry out optimal design of WEC (wave energy converter).

The wave energy conversion efficiency surrounding an island group of Mediterranean Sea is estimated, a wave reanalysis dataset is used to characterize the offshore wave climate around Aegadian Islands and several numerical simulation of wave propagation are carried out. It is possible to convert the wave energy into electric energy and, at the same time, protecting the coastal areas from erosion

Exceptionally high, straight-crested and trochoidal sediment waves have recently been observed on shelf seas world-wide, and reach heights of up to 36 m in the Irish Sea. It is uncertain how the interplay between geological, biogeochemical and hydrodynamic processes influences the migration and extreme growth of these sediment waves. The AmSedIS project thus sets out to (1) investigate the role of sediment granulometry and sedimentavailability on both “extreme” and “normal” sediment wave development and (2) investigate the potential association of methane derived carbonate formation with extreme sediment wave growth. The preliminary findings are: (1) The crests of unusually high and trochoidal sediment waves still migrate over several meters per year and they consist of coarser, more poorly sorted sediments in comparison to the "normal" sediments waves; (2) Methane seepage is not considered a factor in extreme sediment wave development; (3) The excess of mobile sediment supply seems to allow for "extreme" sediment wave growth, and is linked to palaeo-tunnel valleys and the finer sediments that fill them or with converging sediment transport pathways; (4) The variation in sediment from sediment wave trough to crest to trough will form the basis for more advanced numerical modelling.