Projects per year
Abstract
We report direct observations of surface waves from a stereo camera system along with concurrent measurements of wind speed during an expedition across the Southern Ocean in the austral winter aboard the South African icebreaker S.A. Agulhas II. Records include water surface elevation across a range of wave conditions spanning from early stages of wave growth to full development. We give experimental evidence of rogue seas, i.e., sea states characterized by heavy tails of the probability density function well beyond the expectation based on bound mode theory. These conditions emerge during wave growth, where strong wind forcing and high nonlinearity drive wave dynamics. Quasiresonance wave-wave interactions, which are known to sustain the generation of large amplitude rogue waves, capture this behavior. Wave statistics return to normality as the wind forcing ceases and waves switch to a full developed condition.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 154101 |
Journal | Physical Review Letters |
Volume | 132 |
Issue number | 15 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 12 Apr 2024 |
Projects
- 1 Finished
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Dynamics of nonlinear waves in sea ice forced by wind
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
1/12/23 → 31/01/25
Project: Research