Formation Mechanism of Extreme Storm Waves in the Black Sea

摘要

The study and description of storm waves is important for both navigation and estimation of their impact on coasts and relevant technical buildings. It is particularly true of "extreme waves" observed in the sea. The extreme waves are manifested in deviations of the distribution function of wave height probability from the classical Rayleigh distribution and are characterized by high values at its "tail". They also include unusual (freak) waves that are characterized by the anomalous height against the background of neighboring waves. The term "freak waves" was introduced recently and is used ambiguously, because both their statistical properties and factors responsible for their formation are unclear so far. That is why there is no exact Russian translation of the term and folklore version "killer waves," reflecting their hazardous nature, frequently used in our literature. Numerous definitions of the term "freak waves" are in fact united by the amplitude criterion: these waves are twice higher than significant storm waves.