Freak waves: just bad luck, or avoidable?

Eric Heller

doi:10.1051/epn:2005504

Wavelet Spectrum of Freak Waves in the Ocean

Coastal Engineering 2000 ◽

10.1061/40549(276)84 ◽

2001 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Paul C. Liu ◽

Nobuhito Mori

Keyword(s):

Wavelet Spectrum ◽

Freak Waves

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Solitary and freak waves in a dusty plasma with negative ions

Physics of Plasmas ◽

10.1063/1.3633910 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 18 (9) ◽

pp. 092305 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

U. M. Abdelsalam ◽

W. M. Moslem ◽

A. H. Khater ◽

P. K. Shukla

Keyword(s):

Dusty Plasma ◽

Negative Ions ◽

Freak Waves

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Dynamic response of a horizontal plate dropping onto nonlinear freak waves using a fluid–structure interaction method

Journal of Fluids and Structures ◽

10.1016/j.jfluidstructs.2017.06.012 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 74 ◽

pp. 291-305 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Hao Qin ◽

Wenyong Tang ◽

Hongxiang Xue ◽

Zhe Hu

Keyword(s):

Dynamic Response ◽

Fluid Structure Interaction ◽

Horizontal Plate ◽

Interaction Method ◽

Freak Waves ◽

Fluid Structure ◽

Structure Interaction

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Non-Gaussian Extreme Waves in the Central North Sea

Journal of Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering ◽

10.1115/1.2829061 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 119 (3) ◽

pp. 146-150 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

J. Skourup ◽

N.-E. O. Hansen ◽

K. K. Andreasen

Keyword(s):

Wave Height ◽

North Sea ◽

Upper Bound ◽

Wave Crest ◽

Extreme Waves ◽

Freak Waves ◽

Freak Wave ◽

Wave Trains ◽

Central North Sea ◽

Crest Height

The area of the Central North Sea is notorious for the occurrence of very high waves in certain wave trains. The short-term distribution of these wave trains includes waves which are far steeper than predicted by the Rayleigh distribution. Such waves are often termed “extreme waves” or “freak waves.” An analysis of the extreme statistical properties of these waves has been made. The analysis is based on more than 12 yr of wave records from the Mærsk Olie og Gas AS operated Gorm Field which is located in the Danish sector of the Central North Sea. From the wave recordings more than 400 freak wave candidates were found. The ratio between the extreme crest height and the significant wave height (20-min value) has been found to be about 1.8, and the ratio between extreme crest height and extreme wave height has been found to be 0.69. The latter ratio is clearly outside the range of Gaussian waves, and it is higher than the maximum value for steep nonlinear long-crested waves, thus indicating that freak waves are not of a permanent form, and probably of short-crested nature. The extreme statistical distribution is represented by a Weibull distribution with an upper bound, where the upper bound is the value for a depth-limited breaking wave. Based on the measured data, a procedure for determining the freak wave crest height with a given return period is proposed. A sensitivity analysis of the extreme value of the crest height is also made.

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