Wave Group Formation among Storm Waves

Wave data obtained m the North Sea for stormy weather conditions are analyzed to determine the extent of wave group formation among large waves; i.e. the number of large waves succeeding each other in one single run. Three periods associated with the passage of high sea states are examined. The average correlation between succeeding wave heights is found to be +0.2H, which indicates that wave heights do have a "memory". Wave group formations are found to be more pronounced when the sea is growing than decaying. The average lengths of wave runs are calculated.