Numerical validation of the inverse cascade of surface gravity wave action

Abstract

We report numerical simulations of surface gravity waves forced at small scale and the subsequent inverse cascade of wave action. We combine the spectral approach to simulating weakly nonlinear waves with the capabilities of modern Graphics Processing Units to reach unprecedented scale separation between the forcing and domain scales. The resulting broad inertial range allows for an unambiguous confirmation of the theoretical prediction for the spectrum in the inverse cascade regime, both in terms of spectral index and dependence of the spectral level on the action flux.