Mooring Design Using Wave-State Estimate from the Southern Ocean

• Published in: Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology
• Main Authors: Schulz, EW, Grosenbaugh, MA, Pender, L, Greenslade, DJM, Trull, TW
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Amer Meteorological Soc 2011
• Subjects: Earth Sciences; Oceanography; Physical Oceanography; Southern Ocean
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1175/JTECH-D-10-05033.1; http://ecite.utas.edu.au/76928

The Southern Ocean Flux Station was deployed near 47S, 140E. The extreme wind and wave conditions at this location require appropriate mooring design, which includes dynamic fatigue analysis and static analysis. An accurate estimate of the wave conditions was essential. A motion reference unit was deployed in a nearby test mooring for 6 months. The motion data provided estimates of significant wave height that agreed well with the Australian Bureau of Meteorology wave model, increasing confidence in the model performance in the Southern Ocean. The results of the dynamic fatigue analysis using three input wave datasets and implications for the mooring design are described. The design analysis predicts the fatigue life for critical mooring components and guided the final selection of links and chain shackles. The three input wave climatologies do not differ greatly, and this is reflected in minimal changes to mooring components for each of the fatigue analyses.