A Comparison of Nonlinear Water Wave Models

We compare the numerical evolution of one-dimensional gravity waves in response to a traveling surface pressure pulse using a highly accurate boundary integral method and two relatively efficient approximate models (West et al. and Benney–Luke). In both water of finite-depth and in the deep-water limit, the steady state effect of the decaying pressure ramp is to create a profile which approximates a Stokes wave. Moreover, the transient surface profile appears to evolve through a series of Stokes waves of time-varying amplitude. Results show all three models yield similar predictions for lower amplitude waves, while the West et al. and boundary integral predictions differ from the Benney–Luke model at higher amplitudes.