THE RECENT EXTREME SEA WAVES AFFECTING THE BLACK SEA

Extreme wave conditions on the oceans and seas affect both transportation and offshore or coastal structures. Recently, several researches and national sources have shown that some sea storms with destructive effects have been observed in the Black Sea. These storms could have a negative impact on increasing coastal use in recent years and also cause significant damage. For this reason, just like in the Black Sea, good knowledge of sea wave conditions in our seas is extremely critical in order to carry out these activities appropriately. This study aims at investigating several important storms announced by some researchers and/or national publications in the Black Sea in recent years using wave estimates from wave prediction models developed in our previous studies. The following events have been analyzed in this study: February 6th, 2012 storm that caused damage to Karasu beach in Sakarya, September 23, 2014 storm that led to serious problems on Zonguldak coasts and February 5, 2016 storm at İnebolu Harbor. The formation and development of the storms were determined and heights of waves affecting the shore were estimated. As a result, estimation and monitoring of the risks that the coast areas may be exposed to, using the developed model, is considered.