Jerusalem: Israeli and Australian researchers have developed a new method to predict wave breaking probabilities, the Israel Institute of Technology (Technion) announced in a brief introduction to the new findings on their website. The method, information on which was posted on Tuesday, is described in a new study conducted by researchers from the Technion and the University of Melbourne, and published in the journal Physics of Fluids, Xinhua news agency reported. Researchers believe the findings will considerably improve waves prediction capabilities and lead to advancements in applications such as safety and efficiency of maritime navigation and structures, renewable energy harvesting, climate research, and more, according to the introduction. The research team found that there is no absolute threshold steepness beyond which any wave is doomed to break, according to the Technion. The study was based on data collected in a series of observations and experiments in the Black Sea and in laboratory conditions in the 17.4-metre-long wind-wave flume at the Technion. It is impossible to predict the breaking of the wave based on its steepness alone, Prof. Dan Liberzon from Technion, one of the researchers, was quoted as saying. According to the researcher, the breaking is influenced by a number of complex factors such as wind speed and wave peak propagation speed. The wave's collapse begins with the creation of a "bump" on the wave's frontside, from which waves break either violently or gently, depending on the combination of above-mentioned factors. Using the combined experimental data, the research team was able to produce detailed statistics of various features for breaking and non-breaking waves. "These detailed statistics will serve as the basis for forecasting which waves will break and when," Prof. Dan Liberzon was quoted as saying. —IANS
