Research on the Environmental Conditions in the Deepwater Area of the South China Sea: From Observation to Application

Engineering ›› DOI: 10.1016/j.eng.2025.08.001

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Abstract

The South China Sea (SCS) is significantly influenced by typhoons and internal solitary waves (ISWs). These complex marine environmental conditions pose considerable challenges to the design, construction, and operation of large floating structures, including deep-water oil and gas platforms and floating offshore wind turbines (FOWTs). The design specifications for environmental conditions are derived primarily from regional marine data from Europe and the United States. However, such parameters cannot adequately capture the distinct characteristics of the SCS. In recent decades, sustained and comprehensive hydrometeorological observations have contributed substantially to the development of environmental dynamics research. These observations have enabled a systematic characterization of atmospheric and hydrodynamic parameters, including wind and wave spectra, current profiles, and directional hydrodynamic elements. This study provides a crucial engineering foundation and guidelines for the development of deep-water floating facilities.

Keywords

Environmental conditions / Wind spectra / Freak waves / Internal solitary waves / Directional waves

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Botao Xie, Qi Zhang, Haiyue Tan, Hang Sun, Bigui Huang, Chunlei He, Junrong Wang. Research on the Environmental Conditions in the Deepwater Area of the South China Sea: From Observation to Application. Engineering DOI:10.1016/j.eng.2025.08.001

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