Wave engineering research group

Head of the research group
Keyword
wave dynamics
coastal processes
coastal engineering
wave climatology
coastal management
Overview
The laboratory was formed on01.01.2009 to promote and provide a structure forresearch in water waves and coastal engineering.The focus is on complex and nonlinear phenomena, and the applications of mathematicalmethods in wave dynamics and coastal engineering. The scope involves wave theory and applications, surface wave modelling, wave climate,and wave-driven phenomena, with applicationto integrated coastal zone management. Emerging foci are Lagrangian transport of substances, wave and water level extremes, preventive mitigation of marine-induced hazards, andremote sensing methods.
Important results
In 2021, we‚ clarified the effects of atmospheric circulation on the Baltic Sea wave climate usingthe EOF method and re-evaluated thequality of simulations of Baltic Sea waveproperties,‚ employed the technique of LagrangianCoherent Structures to identify areas ofsurface particles aggregation in the Gulfof Finland and quantified the persistencyof debris accumulation in tidal estuaries,‚ performed non-stationary analysis of water level extremes and their regime shiftsin Latvian waters,‚ established the relationship between windand wave properties and surface driftspeed in the Gulf of Finland,‚ developed an algorithm for specificationof location, speed and sailing direction ofvessels from wake measurements,‚ applied laser scanning for determiningmarine geoid properties, constructedtopography through coupling geoid andhydrodynamic models of the Baltic Sea,and derived sea surface heights fromSentinel-3A and Jason-3,‚ quantified the shore profile evolution afteran extreme erosion event at Palanga,‚ revealed the structure “tails” of algebraicsolitons and compactons in the generalizedKorteweg-de Vries equation,‚ compiled an overview of decision supporttools and indices for coastal management and contributed into the analysisof achievements and research gaps in sealevel dynamics and coastal erosion in theBaltic Sea region.
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