Three-dimensional nonlinear random wave groups in intermediate water depth

High waves at ocean occur during a complex space-time evolution of wave groups. In this paper the nonlinear structure of three-dimensional sea wave groups at intermediate water depth is investigated. To this purpose, the Boccotti's Quasi-Determinism theory is firstly applied to describe the linear wave groups when a given exceptionally high crest occurs. Then, the second-order correction to the linear solution is derived for the general condition of three-dimensional wave groups, at a finite water depth. Several numerical applications, finally, have been carried out in order to show how both the spectral bandwidth and the directional spreading modify the nonlinear high waves at different water depth. © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.