Abstract

This paper deals with some aspects of the wave-breaking phenomenon. The objectives were to study wave-breaking criteria, and the probability of whitecap coverage under fully controlled wave conditions. An additional task was to in-vestigate the characteristic spectral features of the noise produced by breaking waves and the acoustic energy generated during wave breaking events. A controlled experiment was carried out in the Ocean Basin Laboratory at MARINTEK, Trondheim (Norway). Waves were generated by a computer-controlled multi-ap wave maker, which reproduced a realistic pattern of the sea surface for the prescribed spectra. Using wave sta recordings and photographic techniques, correlations between the breaking parameters and the radiated acoustic emissions were established. 1.