Özkanlar Apartmanı by Danyal Tevfik Çiper (Gemi Ev)

          Özkanlar Apartment, also known as Gemi Ev, was designed in 1968 and constructed in 1969. It is located in the corner of Fuar Street, Çankaya district. It is recognized by the people who are living in the district. It has an influential aspect to it because of its exceptional shape, making it different from the neighboring edifices. The reason why this edifice has such an exceptional mass can be explained when the interior and the design process is examined. As a rule of thumb, a normal apartment would have the same flat repeating itself, having little to no difference. But in Özkanlar Apt. each flat has a different mass composition from each other.

The aerodynamic structure of the edifice has gone to a point which the name of it has begun to be memorialized as Gemi Ev (Ship House) But this resemblance was not the architect's intention. “Bu yapı aerodinamik bir çalışmadır. Aerodinamik olduğu için diğer aerodinamik kalıplara benzer. Pek çok kişi binayı gemiye benzeterek aerodinamik olduğunu vurguluyor. Çünkü aerodinamiği gemiden tanıyorlar. Böyle anımsanmasında benim açımdan bir sakınca yok. (Çiper, 1995)” This anecdote is important, as Riegl advocated, it is crucial to recognize the intention behind a monument to further examine its historical value. Rather than defining the value of unintentional monuments ourselves. When Çiper was alive, these sorts of detailed information were obtained and documented for newer generations to conserve the edifice in a respectful and honorable manner.

Often compared to Frank Lloyd Wright, Çiper was critiqued for the similar geometries used in his work. Çiper has taken the criticism in a light hearted manner, proudly accepting that he is influenced by Wrights ‘Organic Architecture’ ecole. Çiper, for Wright; “...Ustadan başka mimar sevmedim hayatım boyunca. Tabii ki asla kopya değil, mümkün de değil zaten. Bağırır, sırıtır.” Being a great example of modern architecture, some modernist architects have criticized the building for being too consumed with form and neglected the function. It can be observed that, in this edifice, form meets both the structural design and the function. Building was constructed in 1970, around the beginning of postmodernism. So the reasoning behind these criticisms can be understood when the period is studied.

As it can be seen on Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, use of vertical stripes that collide with an elliptical mass is certainly similar. The edifices are very legible, not aiming to be complex. The volumetric expressions are conducted in a likewise manner. It can be observed  that the window casing and cornice and the fences have a similar design. But the design on the window cornices have been changed by the new owners of the building (Fig. 3) Material is reinforced concrete topped with a white paint which gives them the same smooth texture. Both of the structures do not aim to be unified. Rather existing in a separate but still intact manner. A hierarchy is not observed but the elliptical masses govern. Structure brings two prismatic masses together from their long sides by shifting and forming by adding circular forms to the edge. The unity, simplicity and the harmony of both buildings can be reconciled. 

Often mistaken to be a villa belonging to an upper class family, Özkanlar Apartment is actually an apartment consisting of 6 flats. Both the ground floor and the first floor have 2 flats, after the second floor there are two duplex apartments that are using the terrace. Two flats located on the ground floor were being planned on being rented, meanwhile the remaining flats were meant to be used by the Özkan family. There are five floors when the basement and the usable terrace is counted.  The interior design was made according to the habitants needs. First floor flat that is facing the main street's facade facing south was designed to have large windows, creating a spacious room that contains a kitchen and a closed, circular space. This space was designed to be laminated using a slim light tape but this detail was neglected during the construction works.

            After the economic depression that took place after the 1980s, unfortunately the original owners, Özkan Family, of the building had to sell their property except one of them. The new owners of 6^th and 7^th apartments made such alterations that resulted in building losing its artistic value on the interior. The modification that has taken place on the 6^th apartment has been partially restored. On the top floor, roof is leaking so the water insulation membrane is in bad condition. Because of the fire that took place 2 years ago, caused by the sauna added into the top floors bathroom.

            Designing a cantilever slab that has this much of a space was not very common for its time. (Circular balcony has a diameter of 3,5 meters, and the rectangular one has a 5 meter width.)  The main structural elements of the building are located near the staircase and wet areas as shear walls, rather than placing a column on every wall intersection. This creates an open plan for the flats. Civil engineer that designed the structural system was Eral Soner. There were no contractors involved in the project, which gave Çiper freedom to create the dynamic environment and the desired flow scheme for the apartment. Çiper also designed the interior elements of the apartment including the furniture. 

Guggenheim Museum ( Source: https://birgunbiryerde.blogspot.com)

Özkanlar Apartmanı (Source: http://www.arkiv.com.tr)

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

-CENGİZKAN, M, (2013), Tavizsiz bir Modernist Mimar: Danyal Tevfik Çiper, Arkadaş Yayınevİ

-BAYRAKTAR,N, (2014), Sivil Mimari Bellek: Ankara 1930-1980

-Real estate supervisor of the building.

Comparative Essay on Modern Cult of Monuments by Alois Riegl

    Purpose of a monument is ideally transferring a work to younger generations through fine arts. But not all cases have an aim, which does not stop newer generation to speculate about older generations lifestyle, way of living or any information that could be useful. When the monument has no aim conducted to it by the artist there can only be speculations about its real aim and purpose. Because history can only be speculated, there is no way of knowing anything for sure. Even a random object as unnecessary as a piece of paper with some writing on it has a significance. The material of paper, material used for ink, text style, etc. But there is still a school of thought, considering the elements of art in the random historical object. In ancient times, there is a stylistic unity that excludes many works of art because they do not fit into the standards of this stylistic unity. As time progresses this unity is demolished because each work of art has a meaning of its own and it does not have to be fitting into any criteria. Monuments that have age value usually contains characteristics such as; outmoded, imperfect, lack of completeness, dissolving shape and color, contrasting with contemporary characteristics. This criteria is rather uniting, since it has a very vague and simple rule that can be acknowledged by everyone. “Historic value is based on scientific basis, can only be achieved through intellectual reflection.” 

“A monument's historical value increases the more it remains uncorrupted and reveals its original state of creation.” The natural deformations and decay is not a concern, but finding the original documents for a possible restoration is a concern. Disintegration caused by natural factors cannot be undone but it should be avoided to protect the “original state of a work of man.” Age value postulates these sort of disintegrations. While examining restoration theories through 19th and 20th centuries, age value is the priority for many people including John Ruskin and William Morris. Deliberate commemorative value conflicts with age value. “Deliberate commemorative value simply makes a claim form immortality an eternal present, an unceasing state of becoming.” To prioritize this value, decaying forces of nature should be fought, fundamental requirement must be restoration. “The strongest resistance to this system occurred when the cult of age value came into existence, since the latter concerned itself neither with stylistic originality nor with completeness but, on the contrary, sought to break with both of them. ln this case, according to the cult of age value, what is required to keep a monument "alive," in use, is not necessarily concessions to either use value or its aesthetic counterpart, newness value, but rather a sacrifice of virtually everything that constitutes age value in a monument”

Declaration of San Antonio and the importance of "authenticity"

    Declaration of San Antonio (1966) is one of the declarations about conservation of cultural heritage. Delegates of ICOMOS National Committees of the Americas, met in San Antonio, Texas, United States of America, from the 27th to the 30th of March, 1996. It is mainly about authenticity of the cultural heritage, especially discussing this term in the scope of America. America has a multi cultural variation of states, therefore they have to coexist together. This coexistence is the main strength, containing and recognizing these cultural diversity without any hierarchy. “No nation in the Americas has a single national identity; our diversity makes up the sum of our national identities.” Comprehending the concept of authenticity, examination of the significance of a place is required, and the assessments should be based on the opinions of those who are familiar with the site or its history. This allows not just for the study of change and evolution, but also of the values and traditions associated with the process. It was also emphasized in the document, different values can occasionally crash. 

     The complexity and convergence of different conflicting values may add to the legacy value. Rather than focusing on the dominance of certain groups and their values, the site should be appraised by taking into account all values, even if they are the source of difficult confrontations. Character, traditions, patterns, forms, spiritual significance, and collective memory are sometimes more essential than the preservation of a site's physical elements. “We recognize that in certain types of heritage sites, such as cultural landscapes, the conservation of overall character and traditions, such as patterns, forms and spiritual value, may be more important than the conservation of the physical features of the site, and as such, may take precedence. Therefore, authenticity is a concept much larger that material integrity and the two concepts must not be assumed to be equivalent or consubstantial.” 

    The document distinguishes between two categories of American cultural sites. Static cultural sites are similar to archeological sites that are no longer in use, but dynamic cultural sites are actively used by the community. As a result, their conservation procedures, issues, and authenticity are all determined by different qualities. It is stated that the authenticity of archeological sites is not something that can be replenished. “The authenticity of archaeological sites is non-renewable. It resides in its material elements and their context, that is, the relationship of the structures and objects among themselves and with the physical surroundings. Authenticity can be destroyed when the context of the site is not properly documented, when layers are eliminated to reach deeper ones, when total excavation is undertaken and when the findings are not rigorously and broadly disseminated.” As a result, the original condition of stratigraphy must be preserved so that future generations may be able to study them using more appropriate methodologies. It was also claimed that the employment of new materials, new interventions, new looks, and new hands in the restoration of cultural sites to promote its touristic qualities reduces the authenticity of the sites. Furthermore, economic development and tourism-related activities, as well as poor populations, are all important aspects in the urban centers of historic American cities and places

My take + summary of “A Comparative Study of Planned and Spontaneous Gentrification Process” by Mehmet Emin Şalgamcıoğlu & Alper Ünlü

     The definition of "gentrify" is to restore and improve a house or an area to make it suitable for middle-class residents (Cowie, 1989). To understand gentrification, “filtering theory” is examined. Eventually all edifices will lose their value and integrity. This can cause many scenarios; one of them is, lower-class individuals will settle down in this place. Another scenario is, middle or upper class individuals are tempted to live in these areas because of its historical value. Which will be obtained by renovating these run-down properties. Which will cause the buildings to end up with higher property values. But gentrification is a long term process and it can differ in each location. Another factor is spontaneity, Planned and spontaneous gentrification has very different outcomes when Cihangir and Tarlabaşı gentrification cases are examined. As mentioned in the filtering theory, gentrification can occur in cases where urban land is upgraded in accordance to its history. Meanwhile in Tarlabaşı, social geography of the urban land and unique architectural pattern is erased. These two locations have very similar history. 

    At the end of the 19th century, Italian and Greek architects constructed art nouveau buildings in Pera and Cihangir, neighboring Tarlabaşı. Because of the September 6-7 events and immigration from the Anatolian section of Turkey has caused the property value at Cihangir to be lower. "Politics is the ability to foretell what is going to happen tomorrow, next week, next month and next year. And to have the ability afterwards to explain why it didn't happen" (Petrie, 2012). In early 1990s, structures located in Cihangir has began to deteriorate which triggered settled inhabitants to step in and renovate, rehabilitate and improve the appearance of Cihangir. “No attempt was made by any authority to effect change or relocate the residents of the neighborhood.”(Şalgamcıoğlu, 2014). So the foundation of the gentrification process was led by residents themselves being self-developing urban life cycles. In Tarlabaşı’s gentrification case, the movement is led by the state aggressively. Causing local residents whom are minorities (such as queer people or people with ethnical backgrounds…) to be displaced. The socio-cultural structure is modified and original occupants are disregarded. This urban transformation project is the result of a gradual process that began after the Turkish Parliament passed Law 5366 (Anon, 2005), which was designed to protect and renew irreplaceable historical and cultural resources (Anon, 2005). People with lower incomes are driven from their own neighborhood for political or financial gain in the form of gentrification. Renovation process must start with embracing the historical background of the area and done accordingly. Modernized structures will not fit in as wished since it does not align with the original character. This gentrification case will result in empty homes, which defeats the purpose of self sustainable/self developing neighborhoods. 

     To finalize, the meaning of gentrification differs. Currently, people with higher incomes prefer modernized, minimalistic buildings with no historical ornament or such. So these structures are identified with upper class. In Cihangir, the structures changed because they were reconstructed by locals, which led to structures fitting in with their environment. Meanwhile in Tarlabaşı, people were led to abandon the environment before structures changed. Which led to loss of character and historical value.

Review of Viollet Le Duc's, William Morris' and John Ruskin's Views on Restoration/Conservation/Preservation

    In the early ages the motivation behind restoration was religious. Keeping the ancient building in their best shape was believed to maintain its divinity. Protection was the main idea rather than restoration, maintaining the basic needs of the edifice. Ascertaining the period, styles used in that period is a imperative decision, in order to ethically restore a building. Keeping the characteristics of the building is highly important. While restoring an edifice, it is also important to consider the structural stability of it since these structures would ideally be used and has to serve a certain purpose. The restoration process must start with determining a specific purpose for the building. Because, before starting any restoration project every aspect of the original and restorated version must be analyzed in detail. Any implementations or ornaments should be in accordance with the original structure in every aspect such as the material must be either the same or one with a similar property. For example new material must have similar durability, texture, strength, color, etc. 

    Eugene Emmanuel and Viollet Le Duc have been stating that restoration is needed for a building in order to maintain spirit, by increasing the lifespan of the building. They think the restorator must project the original architects visions as if they were working on the restoration of the project. Bur John Ruskin states otherwise, he does not encourage restoration if it includes any sort of change in the edifice. He highly encourages taking good care of the structure and maintain its well being whilst not making changes. He considers the restoration of a building to be killing its spirit, since the people who designed and constructed are to say what will happen to the structure and it is only their place to make any changes whatsoever. It is even considered to be a disrespectful act toward people who consider the structure to be monumental. The differentiation between this so called disrespect and ethical conservation must be decided by the local people who are involved with the building such as people living around the surrounding of the structure, people working in the structure, local architects, local engineers and local city planners. 

    Both parties have their rightful reasons and conclusions on ethical restoration. Many monumental structures must not be restored but preserved (as John Ruskin seeks) since they hold a moral value to them that should not be disrespected. How to differ ethical restoration from unethical restoration will always be a dilemma. There are many great examples on restoration projects that have resulted in the final project having its own character aside from the original structure. How to decide it this differentiation is unethical or insufficient when compared with the original version? Criticizing the structural aspects, architectural aspects is a valid criteria. Materials used in the stabilization process the or any ornament must be superior when compared with the old material. The material must be in accordance with the surrounding and it should be implemented correctly. The local craftsman should be included in the process since local materials are used by them the best.

Amsterdam Declaration Comparison with Athens and Venice Charter

 

After WW2, for the sake of protecting natural and cultural heritage, particular institutions have gathered in meeting of varying scales and developed certain principles, criteria’s and regulations. These developments have been recorded in various sorts of documents.

Athens Charter, 1931 emphasizes on criticizing certain mistakes that have been implemented that would result in loss of character and historical value.  This charter emphasizes on protecting cultural heritage to the extreme of reburying an excavated site if it is not planned on being restorated immediately. The artwork that are located around the historical site should be removed since they were designed to be discouraged. Historical sites must be under strict governance. They should be conserved without making drastic changes. Changes should be aligned with the period that the original structure has been constructed and the area surrounding the heritage site. If the edifice is being restored in order to be used for a purpose, this purpose must be similar or familiar to the original purpose of the edifice. The material does not have to be the same as the original material. Modern materials like reinforced concrete should be used in order to increase the life span of the building. In the case of an emergency, public authorities are obligated to take any measures and in order to protect monuments with historical value for different countries.

Venice Charter, 1964 is developed in order to enlarge the scope. As the humans become more conscious about the importance of cultural heritage, problems become more complex and they should be handled with a detailed charter. Structures must have a regular maintenance and should be renovated for a purpose. The location that the historical heritage was found must not be relocated or any artwork should be relocated for the purpose of preservation. Material selection should be in accordance with the original materials. And additions are strictly forbidden, so if the historical are is in ruins, only maintaining the building is allowed.

Amsterdam Declaration, 1975 is aiming to develop a more international, larger scoped regulation for the preservation of historical heritage. Contrary to charters mentioned above, Amsterdam Declaration emphasizes on preserving towns/villages/historical interests rather than just structures. Financial aid for all historical preservations must be funded. And any major change should be avoided on rehabilitating old areas. In Amsterdam Declaration, education about the topic of restoration and preservation is also mentioned. This allows the younger generation to be informed about the topic even further and be conscious about local cultural heritages.

        The scopes are changing as the time progresses, level of detail increases. But mainly Amsterdam Declaration handles restoration on a larger scale by involving urban and regional planning. One of the principles that the Venice and Athens Charter have in common is the documentation and publication of any sorts must be done in a detailed manner. Reports and documentation about restoration process must be shared internationally. Apart from Amsterdam Declaration and Athens Charter, Venice Charter does not include proposal for any sort of government responsibility. But rather  focuses on peoples perceiving of restoration and conservation. While Amsterdam Declaration proposes independent organizations to be encouraged.

Mucilage Event in the Sea of Marmara

Today's post will be about a hot topic. Some abnormalities were observed on the Sea of Marmara, more specifically a slimy substance that was resembling saliva was floating on the surface of the sea. This substance is called Mucilage, it was most likely formed because of industrial waste, insufficient treatment levels, and overfishing. It is affecting the ecosystems in both under the sea surface and above it negatively. This topic was discussed briefly in my lectures, when I got more curious started searching about this, I found a TÜBİTAK research paper about the exact same event I was pretty shocked to find out the same thing happened 10 years ago. 

Eskihisar, Gebze 23 May 2021. Photo: Ersin Duman

   

October 2007, İzmit Bay

    Left: October 2007, Erdek Bey. Right: January 2008, Erdek Bey Underwater 

To understand how and why it is formed, a detailed scientific search must be made. It is made up of organic material; a carbohydrate-protein mixture. Although there are many factors that trigger the formation of mucilage, the main reason is the increase in the accumulation of organic matter in the environment by human-induced ways. The mucilage formed in our seas is thought to originate from complex organic substances such as carbohydrates found in the cell contents of phytoplankton (diatom and dinophlogellate species).

Müsilaj oluşumunda etkili olduğu düşünülen bazı fitoplankton türleri (a:Skelotonema costatum, b:Prorocentrum micans, c:Gonyaulax fragilis.) 

In summary, the mucilage phenomenon is the rapid increase in the concentrations of polysaccharide structures and hydrocarbons in sea water, which occur due to the death of certain overgrowing phytoplankton and/or bacterial species, their rapid decomposition and failure to settle to the bottom. This slimy structure covers the bodies of many fish and invertebrates (corals, sea anemones, sponges, mussels, crabs, etc.) and causes clogging of structures such as gills and holes, which they use for the continuation of their metabolic activities such as respiration, feeding and excretion. 

Due to climate change, surface water temperature is increasing every year. This affects the underwater oxygen level. Factors such as climate change, increasing human-induced pollution, excessive and unplanned fishing, unplanned coastal structuring, and increasing marine traffic cause both serious wear of the ecosystem and great economic losses.

Sources:

• https://www.bbc.com/turkce/haberler-turkiye-57293708
• https://sarkac.org/2021/05/deniz-salyasi-nedir/#
• ‌Tüfekçi V., Balkıs N., Polar Beken Ç., Ediger D., Mantıkçı M. (2010); Phytoplankton composition and environmental conditions of a mucilage event in the Sea of Marmara. https://doi.org/10.3906/biy-0812-1
• Integrated Coastal Zone Management Lecture Notes, Aslı Numanoğlu Genç

Flooding, Flood Structures and How These Structures Work

Today's topic is flooding, and how humans manage to control and manipulate water. This control mechanism is for preventing damage and making use of the excess water to be used in droughts. Environmental impacts of all types of structural and non-structural measures are to be assessed jointly in the long term in order to maintain sustainable development of land and water resources.

For rivers, the river streams join or separate because of the geological processes. A Watershed is the area of land that collects precipitation, there are areas where mostly drainage occurs too. These have a controllable ratio, but there are instances where this ratio may not be sustained. 

Source: https://bewaterfriendly.com/our-water/watersheds/

The wetland and overland areas that are seen in the figure may change with geological or hydrological alterations. This affects the settlements near the flow. Reasons may include; slopes on the side of the flow may not be steep. When the cannel over banks, this instance may lead to disasters. Solutions for this problem includes; Building Levees or earthen embankments on the sides of the river. 

Source: A Case Study of a Fluvial Deltaic Reservoir. (2018). ResearchGate.

Another solution is diversion canals; diverting water for purposes like irrigation, hydropower generation, and safety. To create a completely different path for the canal is not environmentally and economically achievable. So the canal is merged back into the original flow after taking a different path. So when the water levels rise, this canal transports the excess water to needed areas instead of it damaging the surrounding. 

Souce: Water Transport Structures(2021) FAO

Another solution; Dams. These infrastructures provide storage for excess water.  Each dam has a specific purpose, some may be full for most of the time to provide hydropower, irrigation... But Some dams are usually empty, when a big flood happens the storage fills up. If the reservoir is full then floodgates must be opened in order to let water through. 

The correct way for flood risk management is to determine the climate, geology, and other factors and designing the appropriate flood structure. These structures have negative effects as well so the design must be well thought. Since climate change is creating extreme situations(for example unnatural precipitation and drought.) and we need water resource management more than anything. 

Here are some related video's:

Sources:

• (Water Resources Engineering, Yanmaz A. Melih, 2018)
• (PDF) A Method to Integrate Geological Knowledge in Variogram Modeling of Facies: A Case Study of a Fluvial Deltaic Reservoir. (2018). ResearchGate. https://doi.org/10.4236\/ijg.2018.96021

• 8. Water Transport Structures(2021)   http://www.fao.org/fishery/static/FAO_Training/FAO_Training/General/x6708e/x6708e08.htm

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Best Civil Engineers on Earth: Beavers!

 Beavers are semiaquatic mammals, they build dams and lodges using tree lodges. Dams impound water and lodges serve as shelters. Their infrastructure creates wetlands used by many other species, and because of their effect on other organisms in the ecosystem, they are considered keystone species. They build dams across streams, in order to create a safe environment from predators. This is called a beaver lodge. These dammed streams provided food for water beetles and nymphs, and the ponds created have various types of fish. To conclude, these dams provide tremendous environmental benefits such as groundwater recharge, water quality, and other species benefit from these habitats as well.

An example for a beaver dam

A beaver dam is a dam made out of logs and mud. A dam is something that blocks or slows down the flow of water in a river or a stream. A good portion of these dams is very stable, they might be renovated by other beavers in order to be used since young male beavers have to create a new pond or find an empty one to re-use. 'Some beaver dams in California date back more than 1,000 years.'  

Some controversies about beavers; so these dams are apparently causing flooding and this wipes out land that farmers need. I think this is preventable damage since there maps for where beavers live and where they might build dams, I am no expert but I feel like it can easily be prevented if people were more mindful of these creatures' territory.  And I personally find it very odd to blame an animal's instinct for "damaging nature" when beavers ALMOST went instinct before some regulations came out about hunting beavers, In less than 200 years, the North American beaver went from 90 million to between 10-15 million. In Europe and Asia, just 1,200 beavers remained by 1900.

Anyways, thanks for reading, here are some cute beaver pictures:

Here are some nice videos related to the topic:

Sources:
https://www.treehugger.com/beaver-dams-can-last-centuries-map-shows-4867776
https://www.biophiliafoundation.org/beaver-dam-benefits/
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/aug/16/google-autocomplete-why-beavers-build-dams
https://www.nps.gov/articles/buildabeaverdam.htm#:~:text=What%20is%20a%20beaver%20dam,a%20river%20or%20a%20stream.

Aswan Dam: An example for Grout Curtain Application

In my Water Resources Engineering course, it was mentioned that before building a dam the foundation must be stable. The foundation must have less deformation under high loads, must have little to no permeability and seepage, increase shearing strength, and satisfy slope stability for the side hills. But regular foundation applications do not comply with the properties stated above. This is why grouting must be used. While I was searching videos about grouting, I came across this one:

In the video, the construction of the Aswan High Dam is being mentioned. This dam is very important for Egypt because of the drought problem and irrigation is now mostly provided by this dam. Periodic floods and droughts have affected Egypt since ancient times. The dam mitigated the effects of floods, such as those in 1964, 1973, and 1988. Navigation along the river has been improved, both upstream and downstream of the dam. 

Green irrigated land along the Nile amidst the desert

The base of the dam is nearly a wile wide and is the key to dam stability. As seen in the figure below, the dam has a core that must sit on the bedrock but in the region where the Aswan Dam is placed, bedrock is under 600 feet of silt and loose rock. So the most cost and time efficient solution was to transform a slice of the riverbed with a grout curtain. The workers drilled narrow holes lined with iron pipes into the sediment. Then the grout was pumped into the holes while the pipes were going up. This process was repeated hundreds of times until a grout wall was formed under the core. 

Source: 
(Water Resources Engineering, Yanmaz A. Melih, 2018)

Storm Surges

In this post, I will be writing about storm surges. For my Coastal Management course, we were assigned to watch some videos related to storm surges. While working on the course, I said might as well create a blog post about it.

A storm surge is not directly related to rain but is related to wind, basically, the sea level rises so much that it causes extreme flooding. This is an outcome of hurricanes mostly. 

Sea level usually changes because of the gravitational rotation of the moon, sun, and earth. When in line, the forces combine to create the highest of the high tides and lowest of the low tides, which are referred to as “spring tides.” These occur every 14-15 days, during the full and new moons. When the forces are perpendicular to each other, the variation between high and low tide is at its least since the forces are pulling the water in different directions. This is referred to as a “neap tide,” and it occurs during the first and last quarters of the moon.

Another effect on the sea-level rise is the wind, where the wind transfers its momentum into the water which causes water to crash into the shoreline with high momentum. So the speed of wind would be simply equal to the speed of the water. But speed varies a lot inside a storm, intensity, direction, and size change so it is extremely difficult to measure that. 

By tracking the sea level rise and collecting the timing, extent, and magnitude data to analyze it. Some sea walls as barrier structures might help and ease the damage, as for infrastructures they should also be designed keeping in mind the maximum flooding caused by precipitation values with the storm surge flooding values. According to the Panel on Climate Change, frequency and intensity may change in the future. And as for frequency, it may be decreasing. But the intensity, which is the wind speed and rainfall amount, is most likely increasing because of greenhouse warming. 

Here is a nice video about storm surges;