Ocean engineering is the branch of engineering concerned with the design,
analysis, operation and planning of systems that operate in an oceanic
environment. It is a field in which engineers study the ocean and sea
environment in order to research how salt water affects watercraft and
vessels. In other words, Ocean engineering involves intense research of
the ocean and its impact on the environment and technology. Ocean Engineering
is essentially another name for Offshore Engineering. It is actually a
combination of several types of engineering: a mix of mechanical, electrical,
civil, and chemical engineering techniques and skills, coupled with a
basic understanding of how the oceans work. As Ocean Engineering is a
discipline having influence from different disciplines, to undertake all
these tasks the Ocean Engineer must have an understanding of many branches
of engineering and must be in the forefront of high technology areas such
as computer aided design and calculation. The field of ocean engineering
provides an important link between the other oceanographic disciplines
such as marine biology, chemical and physical oceanography, and marine
geology and geophysics. The importance of working in partnerships with
oceanographers from other disciplines is critical, as the challenge of
working in the ocean environment requires a range of backgrounds and skills.
Ocean engineers design and develop marine vehicles and structures and
study how technology is applied to the ocean and coastal environments.
Ocean engineers are also involved with deep sea exploration and may work
to design or operate ocean platforms or sub-surface vehicles. Ocean Engineers
also have a specialist function in ensuring that a safe, economic and
seaworthy design is produced. Naval Architecture that specializes in the
design of ships and other sea - going vessels, which has traditionally
been studied as a discipline in itself is a subdivision of Ocean Engineering.
Therefore, the main activities involved in the discipline of Ocean Engineering
and Naval Architecture are the preliminary design of the offshore structures,
its detailed design, construction, trials, operation and maintenance,
launching and dry - docking works etc. Ocean engineering is instrumental
in helping preserve coastal structures from erosion; developing energy
resources; ocean mining; offshore petroleum recovery; and protecting ports
and harbors, sub sea pipelines, cables and underwater vehicles and acoustics.
Areas/specialisation of Ocean Engineering: There are six main forms/
branches of ocean engineering, though most ocean engineering students
will learn all aspects of the career so that they are eligible for most
ocean engineering jobs as soon as they graduate from their accredited
college program. Mapping the sea or ocean floor is one of the specialties.
Workers spend their days designing, building, and running equipment and
programs that can be used to create clear maps of the ocean floor’s
landscape. This knowledge can help prevent shipwrecks caused by hitting
sand bars or reefs.
Hydrodynamics is a branch in which students learn how the water’s
flow affects items in its way. Underwater acoustics is another specialty
with ocean engineering that uses sound waves to study the ocean floor.
Coastal modeling is a branch of ocean engineering in which physics and
math's are used to predict the rate at which a tide or erosion is changing
a coastline. Marine geomechanics study the changes of a seabed when factors
like erosion, earthquakes, slope deformities, and man-made intrusions
take place. Finally, offshore structures is a branch of ocean engineering
where students learn how synthetic items (piers, tide breaks, sewer pipes,
and oil rigs) affect the coastlines and ocean floors. By studying all
of these aspects, workers can learn how to prevent damage to both the
ocean and our man made vessels and structures.
