JAYA KUMAR SEELAM

• B.Tech(SVUCE), M. Tech (IIT Madras, India), PhD (UQ, Australia)
• Chief Scientist at National Institute of Oceanography

Many coastal regions of India were affected by the tsunami caused by a magnitude 9 earthquake off Sumatra on 26th December 2004. This report presents the observations of post-tsunami reconnaissance survey conducted by the National Institute of Oceanography, Dona Paula, Goa, India, along the most affected coastal stretch of Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry a...

On 26 December 2004 the coastal areas of different countries around the Indian Ocean including India were hit by a Tsunami that caused extensive fatalitites and damage to coastal property. On the initiative of Director, National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) and under the leadership of Dr. G. C. Battacharya, Scientist F, NIO,) surveys were carrie...

To assess the damage caused by the Indian Ocean Tsunami of 26 December 2004, post-tsunami field surveys were undertaken during January and April, 2005 from Chennai to Velankanni along the Tamil Nadu coast. Beach profiles were measured at 24 sites. Tsunami-induced landscape changes, identified in April 2005, have been compared with earlier observati...

A non-hydrostatic numerical model ‘SWASH’ (Simulating WAves till SHore) is used to study the wave propagation over a submerged sand bar in a wave flume. The SWASH model is calibrated and further used to validate the wave propagation for two different cases. The wave heights and wave induced velocities obtained from the model and the laboratory expe...

Climate change and its impacts, combined with unchecked human activities, intensify pressures on coastal environments, resulting in modification of the coastal morphodynamics. Coastal zones are intricate and constantly changing areas, making the monitoring and interpretation of data a challenging task, especially in remote beaches and regions with...

One of the critical segments of the Indian coastline currently being studied for its intricate hydro and sediment dynamics is the Konkan coast, which makes up the bulk of the Western Ghats. The study region focuses on the numerical modelling of the Goa, South Maharashtra, and Karwar coastal stretches. This work includes calculating sediment transpo...

Extremely severe cyclonic storm Tauktae traversed along the west coast of India during 14–19 May 2021 and reached its peak on 17 May 2021. The cyclone passed along the Goa coast on 16 May 2021, wherein the eye of the cyclone was about 100 km from the coastline. The effect of this cyclone was felt severely along the coastal stretches due to increase...

Four years of data-driven analyses—Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF) analysis and Canonical Correlation Analysis (CCA), were performed for North and South Goa beach profile datasets (2018–2021) to improve data processing and interpretation. The goal is to understand the significant cross-shore morphodynamic variations by evaluating dominating EOF...

Local and regional climatic pressures influence coastal geomorphic systems on different spatial and temporal scales. Within these zones of variation, systems and environmental processes interact. They can recreate sediment movement patterns and anticipate environmental evolution. This study utilises a non-parametric end-member modelling analysis (E...

Field experiments in the surfzone were conducted on a meso-tidal beach stretch between Sinquerim and Baga off Goa on India's central west coast. Surfzone waves and currents were measured using an array of seabird wave and tide gauges and Aanderaa RCM9 current meters. Rip currents were observed prominently in this stretch with increased intensity du...

SAtellite-based Marine Process Understanding, Development, Research and Applications (SAMUDRA) for blue economy, a technology development program of the Space Applications Centre, is an umbrella program covering research and applications geared toward physical and biological oceanography making use of current and future satellite observations for d...

Along the tropical coast, there is cyclic variation in wind, wave currents, water and sediment influx, and the coasts experience a monsoonal storm surge that reaches nearly 2–3 times higher than the rest of the year, and foreshores undergo a complex evolution during an annual cycle. Hence, knowledge of foreshore evolution is critical in shoreline m...

Currents in the surfzone were measured and modelled along a coastal stretch on the central west coast of India. Wave and tide were the primary forcings for the numerical model, which was validated with the measurements. The rip current occurrences concerning the prevailing coastal processes are attempted, and the instances where the rip currents ca...

The dynamic coastal environment comprising of near-shore zone and beach continuously undergoes substantial morphological changes due to man-made and natural processes. These processes are always mutually dependent and therefore understanding their physical mechanisms is complicated. In this study, an attempt has been made to understand the physical...

As per traditional belief, some part of the ancient town of Mahabalipuram had been submerged just off the shore temple and this story has been recorded by the several British travelers during the 18 th-19 th century. During the underwater exploration of Mahabalipuram area in 2017, three sites along with a large number of scattered dressed stones we...

This paper addresses the performance of different wave height distributions in the surf zone on natural beaches on the central west coast of India. The surfzone water level data for different surf zones were analyzed using Fast Fourier Transformation techniques to obtain the wave characteristics viz., wave height, and wave period. Different probabi...

An attempt has been made to identify promising sites for tidal stream energy assessment along the Goa coast on central west coast of India. A two-dimensional tidal-driven validated numerical model is used to assess the tidal stream velocities. The numerical model results are further used to estimate the tidal stream energy over the simulation perio...

The Sundarbans, a world heritage site in India, is world’s largest inter-tidal delta region containing huge areas of mangrove forests, and lies between India and Bangladesh. The site is intersected by a complex network of tidal waterways, mudflats and small islands of salt-tolerant mangrove forests. The eco-geography of this area is totally depende...

In coastal zones, erosion is the major threat to the livelihood as it leads to the water inundation into the human premises. Sediment transport results in erosions causes morphological changes and also affects the coastal ecosystem. The sediment transport processes are primarily driven by bed shear stress induced by waves and currents. As bed shear...

The power consumption is increasing with modernization of infrastructure and with the depleting fossil fuels. The need to look for alternate sources of energy generation has already reached a peak. The production of power from renewable energy sources is considered to be on a large scale in the near future because of the abundant sources across the...

This classification of tidal inlets is essential to maintain the stability of the inlets as well as to study the changing patterns of tidal inlets in India. Tidal inlets around the world have been classified as either wave-dominated or tide-dominated or river-dominated, since the 1970s. Tidal inlet classification for 471 inlets along the coast of I...

Tidal inlet is an opening along the coast which facilitates the exchange of water and nutrients. The energy extracted at the tidal inlet using tides is called tidal energy. Tidal energy is reliable and not depleting. Since the density of seawater is 800 times denser than air, the energy extraction is much favorable and reliable resource. Because of...

Coastal and estuarine sediment transport constitute a dynamic, multi-objective and multiscale process. Several methods have been devised globally to describe the flow-substrate (sediment) interactions within these systems. To investigate and determine the dynamics of sediment distribution in coastal and estuarine waters, methods such as field obser...

Many catchments in India are devoid of gauging stations. In the absence of measurements of stream flow, regional rainfall-runoff relationships developed over a hydro-meteorologically similar region may be used to estimate flood discharge at ungauged catchments. This study includes testing of different methods wherein a representative basin could be...

The phenomenon of rise and fall in the ocean waters, called tides, is due to the attractive forces between the celestial bodies; Sun, Earth and the Moon. When the ocean water rises to a maximum extent, it is called spring tide and when they fall off to the lowest possible extent, it is called neap tide. With progress in technology, the usage of ele...

Tsunami numerical model studies are mostly focused on inundation and run-up onto the coast. Fewer studies have been aimed at investigating the role of submarine canyons on tsunami heights, currents and run-up. The tsunami hydrodynamics in the vicinity of submarine canyons and ridges in the Palar-Cauvery region off the southeast coast of India on 26...

The geomorphology and the disposition of natural features and type of coast are major factors that control wave heights and govern consequent inundation distances. The connection between tsunami run-up heights and inundation of the hinterland is attempted. Field observations carried out in the aftermath of the December 2004 tsunami reveals that the...

Coastal inlets are the openings along the coastline that provide a linkage between the open ocean and the hinterland water bodies. These coastal inlets are varied in nature depending on many influencing parameters such as tide, wind, river flow and waves. Amongst these parameters, the tides are the most regular while waves and freshwater flow are m...

Tidal inlets play a significant role in nearshore processes along any coastline as they interrupt the continuity of shoreline. These inlets provide a connection between back barrier bays, lagoons, marsh and tidal creeks, and the coastal ocean and are kept open by tidal currents. These inlets behave differently with time, as some remain open through...

Surfzone wave characteristics, measured using a wave and tide gauge (WTG) during a flood tide, were studied at three different beaches having different nearshore slopes. The spectral wave characteristics viz., wave-height and mean wave period were estimated considering different sample sizes. Inter-comparisons of wave climate between each of three...

The history of Odisha, lying on the east coast of India, is well documented from the Stone Age onwards. The evidences suggest that the ports of Odisha had contacts with the Arabs, Mediterranean countries and South Asia, as well as Southeast Asian countries. Khalkattapatna, a medieval port located on the banks of River Kushabhadra was discovered by...

One of the major requirements of planning coastal protection works is to understand the processes of erosion, deposition, sediment transport, flooding and sea level changes which continuously alter the shoreline. Significant erosion can affect the stability and productivity of aquatic environment which may have severe implications for coastal inhab...

One of the major requirements of planning coastal protection works is to understand the processes of erosion, deposition, sediment-transport, flooding and sea-level-changes which continuously alter the shoreline. Significant erosion can affect the stability and productivity of aquatic environment which may have severe implications for coastal inhab...

Coastal inlets are the openings along the coastline that provide a linkage between the open ocean and the hinterland water bodies. These coastal inlets are varied in nature depending on many influencing parameters such as tide, wind, river flow and waves. Amongst these parameters, the tides are the most regular while waves and freshwater flow are m...

Coastal erosion is one of the major problems of the coastal zone. The erosion is triggered by various reasons such as high wave energy, reduction of sediments, natural disasters and climate change etc. In the era of industrialization, major infrastructure developments are happening along the coast. Prior to the initiation of those projects, it is i...

The opening and closure of coastal tidal inlets play a major role in regulating the water and sediment exchange between the river and ocean as well as in the interruption of the longshore sediment transport. The present work is an effort to understand the seasonal variations in the morphology of tidal inlets located on the east coast of India, whic...

Measurements in the surfzone current are often carried out using Acoustic Doppler Velocimeters, Electromagnetic current meters, as well as visual observations based on floats. A simple approach is used to install an Aanderaa current meter in water depths less than a meter and the surfzone currents are measured for a period of about 2 hours during a...

Sediment samples were collected once a month at five different inter-tidal zones across Yarada beach during May-2009 to May-2010. These sediments are characterized by bimodal and unimodal behaviour and most of them are sorted as 'moderately' as well as 'moderately well' sorted. Beach sediments are identified as follows: 71% are positively skewed an...

This study deals with the location of the potential sites for offshore wind farms and also deals with the feasibility of installing offshore wind farms through scientific examination along the coast of India. Offshore wind energy is almost unexplored along the Indian coast. Potential and feasible regions need to be found and studied in detail. In t...

Available geophysical survey data confirm submergence of a large area comprising of building complex, which are possible remains of a submerged township. A global sea level rise estimate of 1-2 mm per year would inundate up to several hundred meters of coast line over a period of 2000 years. Shore line changes have been calculated to about 497 m an...

Evolution of shoreline and sand spit at the mouth of the Terekhol River, near Keri beach, located in the Indian state of Goa has been investigated.. From the analysis of the data collected, the shoreline oscillation (accretion & erosion) is seasonal up to 2010. A sand spit of 2m height has been stabilized in 2012 during monsoon in the southern bank...

Evolution of shoreline and sand spit at the mouth of the Terekhol River, near Keri beach, located in the Indian state of Goa has been investigated. From the analysis of the data collected, the shoreline oscillation (accretion & erosion) is seasonal up to 2010. A sand spit of 2 m height has been stabilized in 2012 during monsoon in the southern bank...

Equilibrium profile is one of the concepts in coastal geomorphology which is a result of the balance of destructive versus constructive forces. Two equilibrium beach profile models, viz. Bruun/Dean’s two third power model and modified Bodge exponential model were used to analyse the measured post-monsoon (winter) beach profiles from three beaches i...

Measurements in the surfzone current are often carried out using Acoustic Doppler Velocimeters, Electromagnetic current meters, as well as visual observations based on floats. A simple approach is used to install an Aanderaa current meter in water depths less than a meter and the surfzone currents are measured for a period of about 2 hours during a...

The Kachchh region, presently, is one of the difficult areas in the Indian subcontinent for human settlement due to harsh climate, scanty rainfall and hence no scope for agriculture production. However, the region was probably densely populated in the past, as can be inferred from archaeo-logical studies around the Rann. Several sites of the Harapp...

The Kachchh region, presently, is one of the difficult areas in the Indian subcontinent for human settlement due to harsh climate, scanty rainfall and hence no scope for agriculture production. However, the region was probably densely populated in the past, as can be inferred from archaeological studies around the Rann. Several sites of the Harappa...

The Kachchh region, presently, is one of the difficult areas in the Indian subcontinent for human settlement due to harsh climate, scanty rainfall and hence no scope for agriculture production. However, the region was probably densely populated in the past, as can be inferred from archaeo-logical studies around the Rann. Several sites of the Harapp...

Bed shear stresses generated by solitary waves were measured using a shear cell apparatus over a rough bed in laminar and transitional flow regimes (∼7600 < Re < ∼60200). Modeling of bed shear stress was carried out using analytical models employing convolution integration methods forced with the free stream velocity and three eddy viscosity models...

During their propagation tsunamis often traverse continental slopes that are relatively steep compared to deeper oceans. Further due to the change of bed slope from offshore to near shore, there is every likely possibility that a tsunami might steepen and eventually break, thereby generating large pressure gradients that could enhance the likelihoo...

New experimental measurements of bed shear under solitary waves and solitary bores that represent tsunamis are presented. The total bed shear stress was measured directly using a shear cell apparatus. The solitary wave characteristics were measured using ultrasonic wave gauges and free stream velocities were measured using an Acoustic Doppler Veloc...

Tsunamis are a potential threat to submarine installations especially when the pipelines traverse the continental slope and shelf. Tsunami propagation simulation for the 26 th December 2004 event was carried out for the southeastern shelf and slope regions of India. The velocities generated along the shelf and slope regions in the vicinity of canyo...

Direct measurements of bed shear stresses (using a shear cell apparatus) generated by non-breaking solitary waves are presented. The measurements were carried out over a smooth bed in laminar and transitional flow regimes (~104

Geomorphic processes in the vicinity of river mouths of the central west coast of India using the Venkatapur River as a representative is discussed. Multidate satellite image analyses, wave-refraction patterns, time-series beach section studies, and sediment characteristics were used to understand the geomorphic processes operating in the region. M...

Bacterial indicators in relation to tidal variations were studied at five locations for over 2 days covering three tidal cycles in the southwestern region of Gulf of Kachchh, India. Tidal flow here is predominantly in the east west direction and can transport particles up to 32 km. Tidal amplitude appears to play a prominent role in abundance, dist...

Low-scale foreshore morphodynamic processes in the vicinity of the Sharavati estuary at Honnavar, central west coast of India, are discussed in this paper based on the wave refraction analyses, sediment characteristics, and foreshore morphological changes. In general, the foreshore is composed of medium- to fine-grained (1.12-2.68 sigma), well-sort...

Circulation in the north Indian Ocean is influenced by both local and remote wind forcing. So far, however, determining the contribution of these two forcing mechanisms at a location has been possible only in numerical experiments. Here we separate remote and local forcing in observations. Using field measurements (current, sea level, and wind) for...

An endeavor to feel the pulse of a coast devastated by a powerful oceanographic event is made. Results of field investigations along Tamil Nadu seaside revealed that the tsunami of December 2004 demolished dwellings within strips ranging from 6 to 132 m (average width, 41 m) from the dune, and flooded up to 862 m (average, 247 m) from the shore. Th...

The movement of sediment plumes, detectable from ocean color sensors, depends primarily on coastal circulation. Hence, sediment plumes become tracers for studying circulation patterns. The Indian remote sensing satellite Oceansat 1 carries an ocean color monitor (OCM) sensor along with a microwave sensor. Using the OCM data, we studied the suspende...

An endeavor to feel the pulse of a coast devastated by a powerful oceanographic event is made. Results of field investigations along Tamil Nadu seaside revealed that the tsunami of December 2004 demolished dwellings within strips ranging from 6 to 132 m (average width, 41 m) from the dune, and flooded up to 862 m (average, 247 m) from the shore. Th...

Coastal subsystems formed by interaction of various processes, impacted by natural hazards like tsunami and storms, pose irreversible morphological changes. Vellar estuary, located on the southeast coast of India, with huge sand dunes (of 3–6m height and spread to 560 ha) and barrier islands, has undergone extensive morphological changes due to the...

A series of tide‐synchronous satellite images, obtained from the Ocean Colour Monitor (OCM) onboard the Indian Remote Sensing Satellite (IRS‐P4), in situ measurements and hydrodynamic model simulations were used to describe dispersal pathways and sources of total suspended matter (TSM) in the Gulf of Kachchh, a macrotidal system with insignificant...

An oil spill occurred off Goa, west coast of India, on 23 March 2005 due to collision of two vessels. In general, fair weather with weak winds prevails along the west coast of India during March. In that case, the spill would have moved slowly and reached the coast. However, in 2005 when this event occurred, relatively stronger winds prevailed, and...

The Gulf of Kachchh (GoK) is situated in the northeastern Arabian Sea. The presence of several industries along its coastal belt makes GoK a highly sensitive coastal ecosystem. In the present study, an attempt is made for the first time to study GoK thermohaline structure and its variability, based on field measurements and model simulations. Thoug...

The Jatadharmohan creek lies between Mahanadi and Devi Rivers along the Orissa coast and it is separated from the sea by an elongated sand spit. It was proposed to mine a volume of 15×106 m3 of sand from the creek for land filling, but maintaining the spit intact. For this, the stability of sand spit is studied with different criteria. The results...

The understanding of the dynamics of suspended matter is crucial for coastal engineering projects and for food web in the coastal environment. The turbidity determines also optical properties of the waters, and is crucial for the coral reef system. Gulf of Kachchh is one of the macrotidal sites of India with occurrence of numerous harbors and an ec...

Digital remote sensing data of SPOT-1 (Nov. 1990), IRS-1C (Jan. 2001) and IRS-1D (Jan. 2003) have been subject to maximum likelihood classifier (MLC) to carry out change detection studies in the coastal zone of Goa. The classified images were evaluated on both homogeneous and heterogeneous regions in terms of confusion matrix as well as by field va...

The Gulf of Kachchh is a funnel shaped, macrotidal water body located in the arid region of northwestern India with ~ 50 cm annual rainfall and insignificant fluvial input. The Gulf waters, however, have high-suspended matter. Time series measurements of total suspended matter (TSM) and synchronous, validated hydrodynamic modeling have been used to...

NCMRWF (National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecast) winds assimilated with MSMR (Multi-channel Scanning Microwave Radiometer) winds are used as input to MIKE21 Offshore Spectral Wave model (OSW) which takes into account wind induced wave growth, non-linear wave-wave interaction, wave breaking, bottom friction and wave refraction. The model d...

The recent Indian Ocean Tsunami had a devastating effect on the Indian coastline. Apart from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the Tamil Nadu coast was the most affected. Post-Tsunami survey was carried out during January-February 2005 along the Tami Nadu coast to study the inundation limits and to estimate the run-up heights. This manuscript presen...

The M 9 earthquake off Sumatra in the Andaman Sea generated a tsunami in the Indian Ocean, which lashed low-lying towns adjoining the coastline of eleven countries, including Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, India and Sri Lanka, causing more than 150,000 deaths 1 . Andaman and Nico-bar Islands were the worst hit among the Indian regions. Apart from t...

The aim of the research was to develop flyash concrete and assess various factors controlling its durability in the marine environment. Hence the research was planned with the following objectives in mind: (1) Development of flyash concrete for marine waters. (2) Evaluation of the role of seawater temperature, dissolved oxygen, salinity and pH on t...

In order to study the daily beach dynamics at an open beach in Goa, field investigations were carried out on the beach profiles, breaking wave parameters and long-shore currents for one month each during pre-monsoon and post-monsoon periods. Three transects on the Calangute Beach, Goa, India, spaced about 250 m apart were selected. Pre-monsoon brea...

Tide synchronous abundance of total suspended matter (TSM), currents and hydrodynamic modeling during September of 1999 have been evaluated to decipher source to sink pathways in the macrotidal Gulf of Kachchh. Despite being located in the arid region with low rainfall (50 cm y sup(-1)) and insignificant fluvial input, gulf waters are enriched in s...

Vainguinim Beach is a small and narrow pocket beach located on the rocky coast of Dona Paula Bay, at the estuarine front of the Zuari River in Goa, India. The beach has been widely used for recreation and swimming by a large number of tourists. The beach sediments consist primarily shell fragments and quartz, with heavy mineral composed of ilmenits...