Title :
A mathematical representation of random gravity waves in the ocean
Author :
Kadota, T.T. ; Labianca, Frank M.
Author_Institution :
Bell Telephone Laboratories, Inc., Murray Hill, NJ, USA
fDate :
10/1/1980 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
We give a mathematical representation of random ocean surface waves in the gravity-wave regime. The so-called random gravity waves are treated as an asymptotic phenomenon when the wind pressure acting on the surface and the dissipation become negligible. We adopt a phenomenological model for the wind pressure such that it excites a surface consisting of wind-driven sea and swell. Starting from the Navier-Stokes equations, we derive a general system of the first-order perturbation equations governing the surface waves, and solve them with this wind pressure as the excitation. The resulting solution is decomposed into a part which is asymptotically dominant and another which is asymptotically negligible. The former consists of two groups: one which is a sum of superpositions of uncorrelated plane waves having approximate dispersion relations and the other a sum of random plane waves with their wavenumbers and frequencies approximately satisfying the dispersion relation. They correspond to the dominant parts of the wind-driven sea and the swell, respectively. Finally, we derive a limiting form of the directional-frequency spectrum in the gravity-wave regime.
Keywords :
Gravity; Sea surface; Dispersion; Frequency; Gravity; Integral equations; Oceans; Sea measurements; Sea surface; Surface treatment; Surface waves; Telephony;
Journal_Title :
Oceanic Engineering, IEEE Journal of
DOI :
10.1109/JOE.1980.1145472