Aspects of Nonlinear Random Wave Kinematics

Statistics of the nonlinear free surface elevation as well as the nonlinear random wave kinematics in terms of the horizontal velocity component in arbitrary water depth are addressed. Two different methods are considered: a simplified analytical approach based on second-order Stokes wave theory including the sum-frequency effect only, and a second-order random wave model including both sum-frequency and difference-frequency effects. The paper compares results for the statistics of the nonlinear free surface, and the consequences of neglecting the difference-frequency effect in the first method are discussed.