STUDY OF CURRENT BEHAVIOUR IN IRANIAN COASTLINE OF THE OMAN SEA, BASED ON FIELD MEASUREMENT DATA

The Gulf of Oman offers the only entrance from the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean into the Persian Gulf and is affected by the climate and hydrodynamic processesof this ocean. Makran Coast plays an important role in country s future navigation and trade due to its accessibility. The Oman Sea is located in the northern margin oftropical climate systems, as the sea is exposed to monsoon rains. Seasonal changes in this sea are not long, since these changes do not generate currents. The surface flows ofwater in the Oman Sea are not similar everywhere, and depend on the wind direction. In summers, when the southwest monsoon winds dominate the Oman Sea, water flows into the Oman Sea toward the northwest, and even there is a surface stream from the Oman Sea to the Persian Gulf. In winters, when northeast monsoons is dominant, water flows outside the Oman Sea. Strong winds blow in the spring and winter and are more intense in January and February than other months. In 2015, Iranian Port and Maritime Organization(IRPMO) selected the Iranian Makran coastline to be studied as the 6th phase in the series of Monitoring and Modelling Studies of Iranian Coasts. A part of the field measurement was conducted by Darya Negar Pars (DNP) Consultant Engineers in 2016. In this study, comprehensive field measurement studies have been done to investigate current behaviour of Iranian coastline of Oman seas.