BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Talks.cam//talks.cam.ac.uk//
X-WR-CALNAME:Talks.cam
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Wave Crest Statistics - the occurence of freak or rogue waves - Ch
 ris Swan\, Imperial college London
DTSTART:20130228T113000Z
DTEND:20130228T123000Z
UID:TALK42486@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Catherine Pearson
DESCRIPTION:Surface water waves are a dominant feature of most marine envi
 ronments\, including both deep-water offshore and shallow-water coastal lo
 cations. Their description forms the basis of numerous environmental model
 s and the loads they impart dictate the design and safe operation of all m
 anner of marine structures and vessels. Within severe storms\, the occurre
 nce of extreme waves has long been recognised and our ability (or inabilit
 y) to model them the subject of much research. In recent years attention h
 as been focused on the most extreme waves\; the occurrence of so-called fr
 eak or rogue waves representing events that lie outside accepted statistic
 al predictions.\n\n \n\nThe seminar will present the results of a new labo
 ratory study investigating the existence of these extreme events and will 
 outline new modelling procedures capable of describing the evolution of ab
 normally large waves. These models allow deterministic engineering calcula
 tions and also provide guidance as to those sea states in which unexpected
 ly large waves may occur. The key factors are found to be the nonlinearity
  (or steepness) of the sea state\, its directional spread and the underlyi
 ng spectral bandwidth. Confirmation of the importance of these effects is 
 provided by laboratory observations of both large individual wave events a
 nd long random wave simulations. The seminar will conclude by considering 
 the practical implications of these waves for both fixed and floating stru
 ctures\, including evidence of unexpectedly large loads\, the occurrence o
 f wave impacts and green water inundation.
LOCATION:Open Plan Area\, BP Institute\, Madingley Rise CB3 0EZ
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR