Field investigations on port non-tranquility caused by infra-gravity water waves

ABSTRACTField investigations have been carried out in two 60-day stages on the surf beat low frequency waves in Anzali port, one of the main commercial ports in Iran, located in southwest coast of the Caspian Sea. The characteristics of significant water waves were measured at three metering stations in the sea, one at the entrance of the port and three in the basin. The measured data were inspected to investigate the surf beat negative effects on the tranquility of the port. Using field measurements and complementary numerical modeling, the response of the basin to the infra-gravity long waves was inspected for a range of wave frequencies. It was concluded that the water surface fluctuations in the port is strongly related to the incident wave period. The long waves with periods of about 45s were recognized as the worst cases for water surfaceperturbation in the port. For wave periods higher than the mentioned range, the order of fluctuation was generally low.