Wave-by-wave forecasts in directional seas using nonlinear dispersion corrections

Abstract

We develop a new methodology for the deterministic forecasting of directional ocean surface waves, based on nonlinear frequency corrections. These frequency corrections can be pre-computed based on measured energy density spectra, and therefore come at no additional computational cost compared to linear theory. The nonlinear forecasting methodology is tested on highly-nonlinear, synthetically generated seas with a variety of values of average steepness and directional spreading, and shown to consistently outperform a linear forecast.