ABSTRACT
The ocean environment, which comprises meteorological and oceanographic data other than earthquake, environmental conditions, affects everything offshore, from the design of offshore platforms, submarine pipelines and terminals to the planning, installation and maintenance procedures. Oceanography is concerned with the prediction of wave and swells conditions from forecasted wind conditions or the determination of past wave and swell conditions from known past wind or pressure conditions. Ocean waves may be formed by several forces, including the frictional contact between wind and ocean, the tidal attraction of the sun and the moon and the vibration of the Earth. Concurrently, ocean current and tide are also a matter of concern for oceanographers. In higher latitudes, sea ice is also an added parameter for calculating its effect on offshore structures for which information is also required to be gathered. Sea ice must therefore be considered as a material of variable composition with properties that depend significantly on its previous history.
