Ocean swell, how much do we know

Abstract

Swell waves are present in more than 80% of ocean seas, and provide significant adverse impact on maritime operations. Their prediction by wave-forecast models, however, is poor, both in terms of wave amplitude and, particularly, arrival time. The very definition of ocean swell is ambiguous: while it is usually perceived as former wind-generated waves, in fact it may reconnect with the local wind through nonlinear interactions. The paper will bring together an overview of the complex swell problem. The visible swell attenuation is driven by a number of dissipative and non-dissipative processes. The dissipative phenomena include interaction with turbulence on the water and air sides, with adv..