Estimates of the joint statistics of amplitudes and periods of ocean waves using an integral transform technique

An integral transform method is used to obtain continuous time series of wave amplitude and period from ocean wave measurements. The joint statistics of these two variables are determined and directly compared with the theoretical probability densities predicted by Longuet-Higgins (1975, 1983). Good agreement is found for data from both calm and hurricane sea states. This method avoids the ambiguities in the definitions of wave amplitude and period found in earlier comparisons of field data with theory.