Extreme Ocean Waves

Freak waves, also called rogue or extreme waves, form when several physical processes gather wave energy into a small patch of water. The processes include modulation instability, chaotic dynamics, frequency-based spreading of wave energy, bending of wave paths by currents or an uneven seabed, and collisions between solitons.

Over the past three decades, researchers have built many physical models of this phenomenon. Experimental, statistical and theoretical studies seek to explain how these enormous waves develop, how they relate to environmental conditions, and how their behaviour might inform engineering design.

This volume collects selected articles that document recent progress in understanding the physical mechanisms of rogue waves. The topics include freak waves arising from modulation instability in nonlinear wave fields, their statistical and physical properties in deep and shallow water, various models of nonlinear water waves, nonlinear resonances between waves, and the comparison of observations with freak wave theories.

The book is intended for specialists in fluid mechanics, applied mathematics, nonlinear physics, physical oceanography and geophysics, and for students studying these subjects.