Wind Waves in the Balaklava Bay under Extreme Wind Conditions

Wind waves in bays and harbors have a significant impact on the safety of navigation and operation of the coastal infrastructure. The purpose of this work is to study the characteristics of wind waves in the Balaklava Bay (Crimean Peninsula) under different wind conditions. The study was carried out on the basis of a numerical spectral SWAN wave model using a sequence of nested grids. Specific calculations of waves in the Balaklava Bay are carried out for constant winds of different directions and for an extreme storm emerged in the Black Sea in November 2007. It was found that in the southern part of the bay the most intense waves are formed with southerly winds. At the bay entrance, at wind speeds, which can occur once a year and once every 25 years, the maximum values of the significant wave height hs amount to 3 and 5.4 m, respectively. In the northern part of the bay, the maximum values hs with winds, which can occur once a year and once every 25 years, respectively, are equal to 0.25 and 0.46 m. It was defined that the storm waves penetrating into the southern part of the bay quickly attenuate as they spread through the narrowness to the northern part of the bay. Thus, the local wind field is the determining factor affecting the intensity of waves in the northern part of the Balaklava Bay.