A numerical investigation of nonlinear interaction mechanisms producing large wave energy concentrations, which lead to episodic transient waves, is performed using both a Higher Order Spectral (HOS) model and a three-dimensional (3D) fully nonlinear Numerical Wave Tank (NWT). Self-focusing of wave energy is achieved through modulating a periodic wave train along two orthogonal directions. Nonl...

[1] The Mellor‐Yamada turbulence closure scheme, used in many ocean circulation models, is often blamed for overly high simulated surface temperature and overly low simulated subsurface temperature in summer due to insufficient vertical mixing. Surface waves can enhance turbulence kinetic energy and mixing of the upper ocean via wave breaking and nonbreaking‐wave‐turbulence interaction. The inf...

Ningaloo Reef extends some 280 km along the western coast of Australia, and consists of a barrier reef ~1-6 km offshore with occasional gaps, backed by a shallow lagoon. The reef morphology thus has some similarities to submerged breakwaters, which largely attenuate wave energy by wave breaking over the reef flat. This wave breaking generates radiation stress gradients that produce setup and wa...

Ocean Wave Energy Converters (OWECs) operating on the water surface are subject to storms and other extreme events. In particular, high and steep waves, especially breaking waves, are likely the most dangerous to OWECs. A method for quantifying the breaking severity of waves is presented and applied to wave data from Coastal Data Information Program station 139. The data are wave height and len...