Abnormally high waves induced by typhoon Vongfong along the East Sea coast

Abstract

The highest waves along the Korean Peninsula are typically recorded in the summer or fall when swell waves are induced by typhoons from the East China Sea or the East Sea. High waves, accompanied by strong winds, cause severe damage along the western and southern coasts of the Korean Peninsula, especially when the surge coincides with high tidal energy. Recently, the southern coast of Korea has become vulnerable to increasingly frequent and strong typhoons approaching through the Yellow Sea and the East Sea, due to increased sea surface temperature in summers and sea level rise in response to global warming. During the fall, the swell waves induced by typhoons passing through Japan or the East Sea also cause severe beach erosion and coastal retreat along the East Sea coast. To understand the occurrence of abnormally high waves and the process of beach erosion along its southern and eastern coasts, the Korean government has initiated two projects: the coastal erosion control technology and the investigation of large swell waves since 2013 and 2014, respectively. As part of these projects, we deployed AWAC to measure waves and currents in the nearshore of the southern coast of Korea, near Haeundae, and along the eastern coast of Korea, near Uljin and Samcheok. Measurements were taken over almost two consecutive years since 2013. From the analysis of measured wave data for the late fall of 2014, we found that the higheshe western and southern coasts of the Korean Peninsula, especially when the surge coincides with high tidal energy. Recently, the southern coast of Korea has become vulnerable to increasingly frequent and strong typhoons approaching through the Yellow Sea and the East Sea, due to increased sea surface temperature in summers and sea level rise in response to global warming. During the fall, the swell waves induced by typhoons passing through Japan or the East Sea also cause severe beach erosion and coastal retreat along the East Sea coast. To understand the occurrence of abnormally high waves and the process of beach erosion along its southern and eastern coasts, the Korean government has initiated two projects: the coastal erosion control technology and the investigation of large swell waves since 2013 and 2014, respectively. As part of these projects, we deployed AWAC to measure waves and currents in the nearshore of the southern coast of Korea, near Haeundae, and along the eastern coast of Korea, near Uljin and Samcheok. Measurements were taken over almost two consecutive years since 2013. From the analysis of measured wave data for the late fall of 2014, we found that the highes