J. Mar. Sci. Eng., Volume 9, Issue 2 (February 2021) – 137 articles

Boat noise is known to have a detrimental effect on a vulnerable Mediterranean sciaenid, the brown meagre Sciaena umbra. During summer 2019, two acoustic surveys were conducted at 40 listening points distributed within the inlet areas of Venice (northern Adriatic Sea). Two five-minute recordings were collected per each point during both the boat traffic hours and the peak of the species’ vocal activity with the aims of (1) characterizing the local noise levels and (2) evaluating the fish spatial distribution by means of its sounds. High underwater broadband noise levels were found (sound pressure levels (SPLs)_50–20kHz 107–137 dB re 1 μPa). Interestingly, a significantly higher background noise within the species’ hearing sensibility (100–3150 Hz) was highlighted in the afternoon (113 ± 5 dB re 1 μPa) compared to the night (103 ± 7 dB re 1 μPa) recordings due to a high vessel traffic. A cluster analysis based on Sciaena umbra vocalizations separated the listening points in three groups: highly vocal groups experienced higher vessel presence and higher afternoon noise levels compared to the lower ones. Since the species’ sounds are a proxy of spawning events, this suggests that the reproductive activity was placed in the noisier part of the inlets. Full article

In this study, an annular jet pump optimization method is proposed based on an RBF (Radial Basis Function) neural network model and NSGA-II (Non-Dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm) optimization algorithm to improve the hydraulic performance of the annular jet pump applied in submarine trenching and dredging. Suction angle, diffusion angle, area ratio and flow ratio were selected as design variables. The computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model was used for numerical simulation to obtain the corresponding performance, and an accurate RBF neural network approximate model was established. Finally, the NSGA-II algorithm was selected to carry out multi-objective optimization and obtain the optimal design variable combination. The results show that the determination coefficient R² of the two objective functions (jet pump efficiency and head ratio) of the approximate model of the RBF neural network were greater than 0.97. Compared with the original model, the optimized model’s suction angle increased, and the diffusion angle, flow ratio and area ratio decreased. In terms of performance, the head ratio increased by 30.46% after the optimization of the jet pump, and efficiency increased slightly. The proposed jet pump performance optimization method provides a reference for improving the performance of other pumps. Full article

Foundations of offshore and nearshore wind energy production systems are subjected to multidirectional and cyclic loads, due to the combined action of wind and waves and in the particular case of mutualized anchor foundations for floating wind turbines, to the phase shift between the loads generated in the adjacent anchored turbines. This article presents a three-dimensional numerical model developed with FLAC3D to analyse the impact of the change in direction of the horizontal load during the cycles. The typical case of a 1.7 m diameter and 10 m-long pile founded in a dense homogeneous sand is considered. A specific procedure has been implemented to apply force-controlled cycles with a change in lateral load direction. The results are compared to mono-directional lateral cyclic loads with the same average and cyclic forces. The results of the parametric study highlight the effect of the average value and amplitude of the cyclic loading on the accumulation of pile head horizontal displacements during the cycles. When a multidirectional cyclic loading is applied, it also leads to an accumulation of the deviated horizontal displacements, and the resulting accumulated horizontal displacements are larger than for a mono-directional cyclic loading of the same amplitude. Full article

Shallow coastal lagoons driven by tidal processes are extremely dynamic environments prone to continuous natural and anthropogenic pressures. The hydrodynamics of these systems deeply depends on the effect of local morphology on the tidal propagation, so their permanent evolution constantly changes tidal dependent processes. For this reason, the present work aims to review the main characteristics of Ria de Aveiro hydrodynamics, a shallow lagoon located at the Atlantic Coast of Portugal, evaluating its evolution over the last 30 years (between 1987 and 2020) and investigating the main morphological changes in its origin. For this purpose, a comparative analysis is performed to determine the main process, including the observed hydrodynamic changes: Deepening of the inlet channel or of the main lagoon channels. To achieve these goals, the authors explored a remarkable database including bathymetric, tide gauge, and salinity data from 1987 until the present. This analysis is completed by the exploitation of a hydrodynamical model (Delft3D), validated against field data. Several simulations were performed to analyse changes in tidal propagation along the lagoon channels (considering the main semi-diurnal constituent M₂), tidal asymmetry, tidal currents, tidal prism, and salinity patterns. The results show that the general deepening of the lagoon observed between 1987 and 2020 led to important changes in the lagoon hydrodynamics, namely the increase/decrease of the M₂ constituent amplitude/phase, as well as the increase of tidal currents and salt intrusion within the entire lagoon, with the changes being amplified towards the head of the main channels. Although the inlet deepening partially contributed to the modifications found, the results revealed that the deepening of the main lagoon channels had the most significant contribution to the changes observed during the last 30 years. Full article

Generation and propagation of waves in a numerical wave tank constructed using Weakly Compressible Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (WCSPH) are considered here. Numerical wave tank simulations have been carried out with implementations of different Wendland kernels in conjunction with different numerical dissipation schemes. The simulations were accelerated by using General Process Graphics Processing Unit (GPGPU) computing to utilize the massively parallel nature of the simulations and thus improve process efficiency. Numerical experiments with short domains have been carried out to validate the dissipation schemes used. The wave tank experiments consist of piston-type wavemakers and appropriate passive absorption arrangements to facilitate comparisons with theoretical predictions. The comparative performance of the different numerical wave tank experiments was carried out on the basis of the hydrostatic pressure and wave surface elevations. The effect of numerical dissipation with the different kernel functions was also studied on the basis of energy analysis. Finally, the observations and results were used to arrive at the best possible numerical set up for simulation of waves at medium and long distances of propagation, which can play a significant role in the study of extreme waves and energy localizations observed in oceans through such numerical wave tank simulations. Full article

Underwater noise pollution generated by offshore pile driving has raised serious concerns over the ecological impact on marine life. To comply with the strict governmental regulations on the threshold levels of underwater noise, bubble curtains are usually applied in practice. This paper examines the effectiveness of an air bubble curtain system in noise reduction for offshore pile driving. The focus is placed on the evaluation of noise transmission paths, which are essential for the effective blockage of sound propagation. A coupled two-step approach for the prediction of underwater noise is adopted, which allows us to treat the waterborne and soilborne noise transmission paths separately. The complete model consists of two modules: a noise prediction module for offshore pile driving aiming at the generation and propagation of the wave field and a noise reduction module for predicting the transmission loss in passing through an air bubble curtain. With the proposed model, underwater noise prognosis is examined in the following cases: (i) free-field noise prediction without the air bubble curtain, (ii) waterborne path fully blocked at the position of the air bubble curtain while the rest of the wave field is propagated at the target distance, (iii) similarly to (ii) but with a non-fully blocked waterborne path close to the seabed, and (iv) air bubble curtain modeled explicitly using an effective medium theory. The results provide a clear indication of the amount of energy that can be channeled through the seabed and through possible gaps in the water column adjacent to the seabed. The model allows for a large number of simulations and for a thorough parametric study of the noise escape when a bubble curtain is applied offshore. Full article

With the implementation of the energy efficiency design index (EEDI) by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the goal of which is to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, interest in energy saving devices (ESDs) is increasing. Among such ESDs are air lubrication methods, which reduce the frictional drag of ships by supplying air to the hull surface. This is one of the efficient approaches to reducing a ship’s operating costs and making it environmentally friendly. In this study, the air lubrication method on a flat plate was studied using computational fluid mechanics (CFD). OpenFOAM, the open-source CFD platform, was used. The coupled level-set and volume of fluid (CLSVOF) solver, which combines the advantages of the level-set method and the volume of fluid method, was used to accurately predict the air and water interface. Rayleigh–Taylor instability was simulated to verify the CLSVOF solver. The frictional drag reduction achieved by the air lubrication of the flat plate at various injected airflow rates was studied, and compared with experimental results. The characteristics of the air and water interface and the main factors affecting the cavity formation were also investigated. Full article

This paper presents the use of virtual level (VL) probes as an alternative image-based approach to investigate the interaction of waves with coastal structures in wave flume experiments. These probes are defined as regions of interest located at specific positions along the horizontal domain of the images, in which edge interfaces are detected and, thus, their vertical motions can be obtained. To demonstrate the use of the methodology, a critical condition of breaking waves interacting with a Cubipod homogeneous low-crested structure (HLCS) in a two-dimensional framework was selected. With the video recorded from the experiments, image calibration, processing, and analysis stages were implemented to analyze the performance of the HLCS in reducing wave elevations and to study the stability of the armor units. The present approach can be extended to a wide range of coastal structures applications where the interface detection between components of the scene is useful to observe the behavior of coastal structures, increasing effectiveness and alternatives to acquire precise data in 2D experimental tests. Full article

The emerging tasks of determining the features of bottom sediments, including the evolution of the seabed, require a significant improvement in the quality of data and methods for their processing. Marine seismic data has traditionally been perceived to be of high quality compared to land data. However, high quality is always a relative characteristic and is determined by the problem being solved. In a detailed study of complex processes, the interaction of waves with bottom sediments, as well as the processes of seabed evolution over short time intervals (not millions of years), we need very high accuracy of observations. If we also need significant volumes of research covering large areas, then a significant revision of questions about the quality of observations and methods of processing is required to improve the quality of data. The article provides an example of data obtained during high-precision marine surveys and containing a wide frequency range from hundreds of hertz to kilohertz. It is shown that these data, visually having a very high quality, have variations in wavelets at all analyzed frequencies. The corresponding variations reach tens of percent. The use of the method of factor decomposition in the spectral domain made it possible to significantly improve the quality of the data, reducing the variability of wavelets by several times. Full article

This investigation focuses on the modelling of a floating oscillating water column (FOWC) wave energy converter with a numerical code (ANSYS AQWA) based on potential flow theory. Free-floating motions predicted by the numerical model were validated against experimental data extrapolated from a 1:36 scale model device in regular and irregular sea states. Upon validation, an assessment of the device’s motions when dynamically coupled with a four-line catenary mooring arrangement was conducted at different incident wave angles and sea states ranging from operational to survivable conditions, including the simulation of the failure of a single mooring line. The lack of viscosity in the numerical modelling led to overpredicted motions in the vicinity of the resonant frequencies; however, the addition of an external linear damping coefficient was shown to be an acceptable method of mitigating these discrepancies. The incident wave angle was found to have a limited influence on the magnitudes of heave, pitch, and surge motions. Furthermore, the obtained results indicated that the mooring restoring force is controlled by the forward mooring lines under the tested conditions. Full article

The large variations in salinity at the salinity maximum in the northern South China Sea (NSCS), as an indicator for the changes in the Kuroshio intrusion (KI), play an important role in the hydrological cycle. The high salinity here is more than 34.65 at the salinity maximum and is intriguing. In the past, the salinity was difficult to trace in the entire NSCS over long periods due to a lack of high-quality observations. However, due to the availability of accumulated temperature and salinity (T-S) profiles from the Argo program, it is now possible to capture subsurface-maximum data on a large spatiotemporal scale. In this study, the salinity maximum distributed in the subsurface of 80 to 200 m at a density of 23.0–25.5 σ_θ was extracted from decades of Argo data (on the different pressure surfaces, 2006–2019). We then further studied the spatial distribution and seasonal variation of the salinity maximum and its anomalously high salinity. The results suggest that a high salinity (salinity > 34.65, most of which is located at the shallow depths < 100 m) at the subsurface salinity-maximum layer often occurs in the NSCS, especially near the Luzon Strait, which accounts for about 23% of the total salinity maximum. In winter, the anomalously high salinity at the shallow subsurface salinity maximum can extend to the south of 17° N, while it rarely reaches 18° N and tends to locate at deeper waters in summer. The T-S values of the anomalously high-salinity water are between the mean T-S values in the NSCS and north Pacific subsurface water, implying that the outer sea water gradually mixes with the South China Sea water after passing through the Luzon Strait. Finally, our results show that the factors play an important role in the appearance and distribution of the anomalously high salinity at the subsurface salinity maximum, including the strength of the Kuroshio intrusion, the local wind stress curl and the anticyclonic eddy shedding from the loop current. Full article

Despite the efforts of developers, investors and scientific community, the successful development of a competitive wave energy industry is proving elusive. One of the most important barriers against wave energy conversion is the efficiency of the devices compared with all the associated costs over the lifetime of an electricity generating plant, which translates into a very high Levelised Cost of Energy (LCoE) compared to that of other renewable energy technologies such as wind or solar photovoltaic. Furthermore, the industrial roll-out of Wave Energy Converter (WEC) devices is severely hampered by problems related to their reliability and operability, particularly in open waters and during harsh environmental sea conditions. WEC technologies in multi-purpose breakwaters—i.e., a structure that retains its primary function of providing sheltered conditions for port operations to develop and includes electricity production as an added co-benefit—appears to be a promising approach to improve cost-effectiveness in terms of energy production. This paper presents the proof of concept study of a novel hybrid-WEC (HWEC) that uses two well understood power generating technologies, air and water turbines, integrated in breakwaters, by means of a composite modelling approach. Preliminary results indicate: firstly, hybridisation is an adequate approach to harness the available energy most efficiently over a wide range of metocean conditions; secondly, the hydraulic performance of the breakwater improves; finally, no evident negative impacts in the overall structural stability specific to the integration were observed. Full article

In this study, an underwater image enhancement method based on local contrast correction (LCC) and multi-scale fusion is proposed to resolve low contrast and color distortion of underwater images. First, the original image is compensated using the red channel, and the compensated image is processed with a white balance. Second, LCC and image sharpening are carried out to generate two different image versions. Finally, the local contrast corrected images are fused with sharpened images by the multi-scale fusion method. The results show that the proposed method can be applied to water degradation images in different environments without resorting to an image formation model. It can effectively solve color distortion, low contrast, and unobvious details of underwater images. Full article

To mitigate the risk of structural failure in coastal engineering caused by soft marine soil creep, this study presents a coupled macroscopic and mesoscopic creep model of soft marine soil to predict long-term deformation behavior of the soil. First, the mesoscopic characteristics of soft marine soil (e.g., pore, particle, and morphological characteristics) under different external pressures were obtained using a scanning electron microscope. Then, both the mesoscopic and macroscopic characteristics of soil were quantified using directional probability entropy and then used as inputs to develop the model. The model predictions agree with the experimental data. In addition, the experimental results indicate linear negative correlations between porosity and pore ratio with stress—the relationships between the fractal dimension of pore distribution and probability entropy of particle orientation under stress are generally nonlinear. Further, results of sensitivity analysis indicate that the probability entropy of particle orientation is one of the most critical parameters governing long-term creep deformation behavior of soft marine soil. Full article

In this study, a Level III reliability design of an armor block of rubble mound breakwater was developed using the optimized probabilistic wave height model for the Korean marine environment and Van der Meer equation. To demonstrate what distinguishes this study from the others, numerical simulation was first carried out, assuming that wave slope follows Gaussian distribution recommended by PIANC. Numerical results showed that Gaussian wave slope distribution overpredicted the failure probability of armor block, longer and shorter waves, and on the contrary, underpredicted waves of the medium period. After noting the limitations of Gaussian distribution, some efforts were made to develop an alternative for Gaussian distribution. As a result, non-Gaussian wave slope distribution was analytically derived from the joint distribution of wave amplitude and period by Longuet–Higgins using the random variables transformation technique. Numerical results showed that non-Gaussian distribution could effectively address the limitations of Gaussian distribution due to its capability to account for the nonlinear resonant wave–wave interaction and its effects on the wave slope distribution that significantly influences the armor block’s stability. Therefore, the non-Gaussian wave slope distribution presented in this study could play an indispensable role in addressing controversial issues such as whether or not enormous armor blocks like a Tetrapod of 100 t frequently mentioned in developing countermeasures against rough seas due to climate change is too conservatively designed. Full article

Ship-source air pollutants, especially sulphur oxides (SOx), have a major impact on human health, the marine environment and the natural resources. Therefore, control of SOx emissions has become a main concern in the maritime industry. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has set a global limit on sulphur content of 0.50% m/m (mass by mass) in marine fuels which has entered into effect on 1 January 2020.To comply with the sulphur limits, ship owners are facing the need to select suitable abatement solutions. The choice of a suitable solution is a compromise among many issues, but the economic performance offers the basis for which ones are attractive to ship owners. Currently, there are three technologically feasible SOx abatement solutions that could be used by ships, namely, liquified natural gas (LNG) as a fuel (Solution A), scrubbers (Solution B) and low-sulphur fuel oil (LSFO) (Solution C). To compare the economic performances of the mentioned three solutions for a newbuilding very large crude carrier (VLCC), this paper proposes a voyage expenses-based method (VEM). It was found that, within the initial target payback period of 6 years, Solution A and C are more expensive than Solution B, while Solution C is more competitive than Solution A. Five scenarios of target payback years were assumed to compare the trends of the three proposed solutions. The results show that Solution B maintains its comparative advantage. As the assumed target payback years becomes longer, the economy of Solution A gradually improves and the economics of Solution B and C gradually decline. A comparison between Solution A and C shows 6.5 years is a turning point. The advantage of Solution A is prominent after this payback period. In addition, the performance of a certain solution in terms of adaptability to the IMO greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions regulations is also a factor that ship owner need to consider when making decisions. In conclusion, when the IMO air pollutant regulations and GHG regulations are considered simultaneously, the advantages of using LNG are obvious. Full article

The emergency evacuation route planning of cruise ships directly affects the safety of all crew members and passengers during emergencies. Research on the planning of emergency evacuation routes for cruise ships is a frontier subject of maritime safety. This study proposes an improved ant colony system (IACS) to solve the evacuation route planning of crowds on cruise ships. The IACS, which is different from common single-path ant colony system (ACS) evacuation algorithms, is used to solve the multipath planning problem of crowd evacuation from cruise ships by considering crowd density and speed in the model. An increasing flow method is introduced into the IACS to improve the efficiency of the proposed algorithm. Numerical experiments show that this method meets the requirements of evacuation analysis guidelines for new and existing passenger ships (MSC.1/Circ.1533)and can effectively and efficiently plan the emergency evacuation path for cruise ship crowd. Full article

In this study, an improved double distribution function based on the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) is applied to simulate the evolution of non-isothermal cavitation. The density field and the velocity field are solved by pseudo-potential LBM with multiple relaxation time (MRT), while the temperature field is solved by thermal LBM-MRT. First, the proposed LBM model is verified by the Rayleigh–Plesset equation and D2 (the square of the droplet diameter) law for droplet evaporation. The results show that the simulation by the LBM model is identical to the corresponding analytical solution. Then, the proposed LBM model is applied to study the cavitation bubble growth and collapse in three typical boundaries, namely, an infinite domain, a straight wall and a convex wall. For the case of an infinite domain, the proposed model successfully reproduces the process from the expansion to compression of the cavitation bubble, and an obvious temperature gradient exists at the surface of the bubble. When the bubble collapses near a straight wall, there is no second collapse if the distance between the wall and the bubble is relatively long, and the temperature inside the bubble increases as the distance increases. When the bubble is close to the convex wall, the lower edge of the bubble evolves into a sharp corner during the shrinkage stage. Overall, the present study shows that this improved LBM model can accurately predict the cavitation bubble collapse including heat transfer. Moreover, the interaction between density and temperature fields is included in the LBM model for the first time. Full article

Since 1973, studies have explored ocean power generation from different perspectives. However, in the past 45 years, few studies have attempted to comprehensively review the existing studies on ocean power generation using wave energy, tidal current energy, ocean thermal energy, salinity gradient energy, bio-mass energy, and gas hydrates. In this study, we collected 5262 studies published from 1973 to 2018 for scientometric visualization analysis and drew a knowledge map of the ocean power generation field. The results show that the most important contributions to the research of ocean power generation mainly came from the United States, China, Britain, Italy, Spain, Japan, Norway, Germany, France, and Denmark. Ocean power generation research is mainly divided into two stages. From 1973 to 2007, there were relatively few studies and no obvious hot topics. From 2008 to 2018, the knowledge fields mainly focused on ocean biomass power generation, the exploitation of natural gas hydrates, the utilization of wave energy and tidal energy, the research and optimization of energy generators, the storage and management of ocean energy, and numerical simulations of marine climates. In addition, the joint utilization of wind energy and wave energy is also a current research topic of interest, including joint assessment of the two energy potentials, the research and development of equipment, and numerical simulations of joint power generation projects. Full article

We have carried out an experimental study of the turbulence kinetic energy dissipation rate ($ϵ$), temperature dissipation rate ($\chi$), and turbulent heat flux (THF) within the water surface layer in the presence of non-breaking wave, surface convection, and horizontal heat and eddy fluxes that play a prominent role in the front. We noted that the non-breaking wave dominates $ϵ$ values within the surface layer. While analyzing the vertical $ϵ$ variability, the presence of a wave-affected layer from the water surface to a depth of $z\approx 1.25{\lambda }_{\mathrm{w}}$ is observed, where ${\lambda }_{\mathrm{w}}$ is the wavelength. $ϵ$ associated with non-breaking waves ranged to $4.9\times {10}^{-6}$–$7\times {10}^{-6}$ m²/s³ for the wavelength range of 0.038 m < ${\lambda }_{\mathrm{w}}$ < 0.098 m categorized as the gravity and gravity-capillary wave regimes. $ϵ$ values increase for longer ${\lambda }_{\mathrm{w}}$ and non-breaking wave $ϵ$ values represent their significant contribution to the ocean energy budget and dynamic of surface layer considering that the non-breaking wave covers the large fraction of ocean surface. We also found that the surface mean square slope (MSS) and wave generated $ϵ$ have the same order of magnitude, i.e., MSS $\sim ϵ$. Besides, we have documented that the small-scale temperature fluctuation change (i.e., $\chi$) is consistent with the large-scale temperature gradient change (i.e., $d<T>/dz$). The value of the THF is approximately constant within the surface layer. It represents that the measured THF near the water surface can be considered a surface water THF, challenging to measure directly. Full article

Tropical cyclones (TC) are some of the most intense weather systems on Earth and are responsible for generating hazardous waves on the sea surface that dominate the extreme wave climate in several regions, including the Gulf of Mexico and the U.S. East Coast. Modeling these waves is crucial for engineering applications, yet it is notoriously difficult, due to TC’s compact structure and rapid evolution in space and time relative to other weather systems. To better understand the wave structure under TCs, we use satellite altimeter data paired with TC tracks. We parse the data by TC intensity and forward translation velocity, finding evidence of extended fetch. We use the altimeter data to evaluate operational hindcasts, including the US Army Corps of Engineer’s Wave Information Study, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Centers for Environmental Prediction Production Hindcast, and the Institut français de recherche pour l’exploitation de la mer (Ifremer) hindcast. The Ifremer hindcast (1990–2016) is examined in detail. Near the eye in the TC-centered reference frame, we find a pattern of model underestimation in the left sector and overestimation in the right sector except near the eye where wave height remains underestimated. This pattern holds, albeit modulated, across various intensities, forward translation velocities, and radii of maximum winds; the exceptions being the fastest translating storms where the error pattern shows a trend towards overestimation in all sectors. The error patterns for intense and compact TCs exhibited more severe underestimation, which dominated the region near the TC eye. Full article

In this paper, we revisit the hydrodynamics supporting the design and development of the RiverCat class of catamaran ferries operating in Sydney Harbor since 1991. More advanced software is used here. This software accounts for the hydrodynamics of the transom demisterns that experience partial or full ventilation, depending on the vessel speed. This ventilation gives rise to the hydrostatic drag, which adds to the total drag of the vessel. The presence of the transom also creates a hollow in the water. This hollow causes an effective hydrodynamic lengthening of the vessel, which leads to a reduction in the wave resistance. Hence, a detailed analysis is required in order to optimize the size of the transom. It is demonstrated that the drag of the vessel and the wave generation can be predicted with good accuracy. Finally, the software is also used to optimize the vessel further by means of affine transformations of the hull geometry. Full article

A spherical wave measurement buoy capable of detecting breaking waves has been designed and built. The buoy is 16 inches in diameter and houses a 9 degree of freedom inertial measurement unit (IMU). The orientation and acceleration of the buoy is continuously logged at frequencies up to 200 Hz providing a high fidelity description of the motion of the buoy as it is impacted by breaking waves. The buoy was deployed several times throughout the winter of 2013–2014. Both moored and free-drifting data were acquired in near-shore shoaling waves off the coast of Newport, OR. Almost 200 breaking waves of varying type and intensity were measured over the course of multiple deployments. The characteristic signature of spilling and plunging breakers was identified in the IMU data. Full article

Large blocks and boulders of banded iron formations and massive hematite up to 40 × 27 × 6 m³ and in excess of 10,000 metric tonnes were detached from an outcrop of the Wilgie Mia Formation during the ca 2.20 Ga marine transgression at the base of the Paleoproterozoic Windplain Group and deposited in a broad band on the wave-cut surface 900 to 1200 m to the east. At the same time, sand and shingle were scoured from the sea floor, leaving remnants only on the western side of the Wilgie Mia Formation and on the eastern sides of the boulders. Evidence suggesting that the blocks were detached and transported and the sea floor scoured by a tsunami bore with a height of at least 40 m is provided by the following: (1) the deposition of the blocks indicates transportation by a unidirectional sub-horizontal force, whereas the smaller boulders are randomly oriented; (2) 900–1200 m separates the banded iron formation (BIF) outcrop and the blocks (3) there is an absence of the basal conglomerate between the blocks; (4) the blocks and boulders rest directly on the wave-cut surface of deeply weathered amphibolites; (5) the blocks and boulders are surrounded and overlain by fine-grained sandstone of the Windplain Group. Full article

Traditional techniques for accident investigation have hindsight biases. Specifically, they isolate the process of the accident event and trace backward from the event to determine the factors leading to the accident. Nonetheless, the importance of the contributing factors towards a successful operation is not considered in conventional accident modeling. The Safety-II approach promotes an examination of successful operations as well as failures. The rationale is that there is an opportunity to learn from successful operations, in addition to failure, and there is an opportunity to further differentiate failure processes from successful operations. The functional resonance analysis method (FRAM) has the capacity to monitor the functionality and performance of a complex socio-technical system. The method can model many possible ways a system could function, then captures the specifics of the functionality of individual operational events in functional signatures. However, the method does not support quantitative analysis of the functional signatures, which may demonstrate similarities as well as differences among each other. This paper proposes a method to detect anomalies in operations using functional signatures. The present work proposes how FRAM data models can be converted to graphs and how such graphs can be used to estimate anomalies in the data. The proposed approach is applied to human performance data obtained from ice-management tasks performed by a cohort of cadets and experienced seafarers in a ship simulator. The results show that functional differences can be captured by the proposed approach even though the differences were undetected by usual statistical measures. Full article

Port design and approaches are usually carried out using real-time computer simulation methods for ship manoeuvring. So-called ship real-time simulation methods are relatively expensive, especially in terms of survey time. Several real-time simulation scenarios carried out by masters and pilots are usually performed, with several simulation attempts in each scenario. Each such attempt can last up to one hour, which, with a large number of scenarios, prolongs the research and increases its cost. Particularly time-consuming is the repetition of many scenarios with alternative solutions for infrastructure development and in various hydrometeorological conditions. To reduce the time-consuming of the tests, a new two-stage method was used to design the target approach on the modernized Port of Ustka. In the first stage, the simulations were carried out with significantly reduced floating navigation marking, and in the second stage with the target marking. Moreover, the so-called “Soft-Bank” method was introduced, i.e., the effects of a collision with the seabed and infrastructure were excluded. Such a solution leads to significant time benefits in conducting research and at the same time does not reduce confidence in the results obtained. Full article

Path planning is a key issue in the field of coastal ships, and it is also the core foundation of ship intelligent development. In order to better realize the ship path planning in the process of navigation, this paper proposes a coastal ship path planning model based on the optimized deep Q network (DQN) algorithm. The model is mainly composed of environment status information and the DQN algorithm. The environment status information provides training space for the DQN algorithm and is quantified according to the actual navigation environment and international rules for collision avoidance at sea. The DQN algorithm mainly includes four components which are ship state space, action space, action exploration strategy and reward function. The traditional reward function of DQN may lead to the low learning efficiency and convergence speed of the model. This paper optimizes the traditional reward function from three aspects: (a) the potential energy reward of the target point to the ship is set; (b) the reward area is added near the target point; and (c) the danger area is added near the obstacle. Through the above optimized method, the ship can avoid obstacles to reach the target point faster, and the convergence speed of the model is accelerated. The traditional DQN algorithm, A* algorithm, BUG2 algorithm and artificial potential field (APF) algorithm are selected for experimental comparison, and the experimental data are analyzed from the path length, planning time, number of path corners. The experimental results show that the optimized DQN algorithm has better stability and convergence, and greatly reduces the calculation time. It can plan the optimal path in line with the actual navigation rules, and improve the safety, economy and autonomous decision-making ability of ship navigation. Full article

As the scale of offshore plants has gradually increased, the amount of management points has significantly increased. Therefore, there are needs for innovative process control, quality management, and an installation support system to improve productivity and efficiency for timely construction. In this paper, we introduce a novel approach to deal with these issues using augmented reality (AR) technology. The core of successful AR implementation is up to scene matching through accurate pose (position and alignment) estimation using an AR camera. To achieve this, this paper first introduces an accurate marker registration technique that can be used in huge structures. In order to improve the precision of marker registration, we propose a method that utilizes the natural feature points and the marker corner points in the optimization step simultaneously. Subsequently, a method of precisely generating AR scenes by utilizing these registered markers is described. Finally, to validate the proposed method, the best practices and its effects are introduced. Based on the proposed AR system, construction workers are now able to quickly navigate to onboard destinations by themselves. In addition, they are able to intuitively install and inspect outfitting parts without paper drawings. Through field tests and surveys, we confirm that AR-based inspection has a significant time-saving effect compared to conventional drawing-based inspection. Full article