Ocean Currents Modeling along the Iranian Coastline of the Oman Sea and the Northern Indian Ocean

Abstract

The Makran Coast (Iranian Coastline of the Oman Sea on the Northern Indian Ocean) plays an important role in country's future navigation and trade due to its accessibility. In 2014, the Iranian Makran coastline was selected by the PMO to be studied as the Phase 6 in the series of Monitoring and Modelling Studies of Iranian Coasts with all disciplines being in investigated including currents. All previously measured current data (in 2006, 2007 and 2008) along the Makran coastline showed an oscillating (reversing) alongshore currents with no detectable dominant frequency. The oscillation period of these currents varies approximately from 3 days to a week. The most significant objective of this study was to simulate the oscillating behaviour of the Makran coastal currents. In this regard, the global oceanic current pattern over the Northern Indian Ocean was simulated using a 3-dimensional non-structured model and comparisons with the data from several global resources have been made. The model was calibrated using the available vertical current profile data along the coastline.