Study of energy flow in ocean waves moving through current eddies. This situation can lead to formation of giant rogue waves. Several different ray speeds we launched in an eddy field to gauge the effect of wavelength on energy bunching, or caustics, which correspond to high risk areas for rogue waves. The different ray speeds were each given a different color.

Study of energy flow in ocean waves moving through current eddies. This situation can lead to formation of giant rogue waves. Three different ray speeds we launched in an eddy field to gauge the effect of wavelength on energy bunching, or caustics, which correspond to high risk areas for rogue waves. The different ray speeds were each given a different color. Some were launched from top to bottom, others from bottom to top.

Study of energy flow in ocean waves moving through current eddies. This situation can lead to formation of giant rogue waves. Three different ray speeds we launched in an eddy field to gauge the effect of wavelength on energy bunching, or caustics, which correspond to high risk areas for rogue waves. The different ray speeds were each given a different color. Some were launched from top to bottom, others from bottom to top.

Study of energy flow in ocean waves

Study of energy flow in ocean waves moving through current eddies. This situation can lead to formation of giant rogue waves. The reflected image shows rippling which in fact is the technical mechanism by which the caustics develop.

Nonlinear transformations in the plane, involving random vertical and horizontal shearing have taken a benign blue-green-white simply layered initial structure and have turned it into this chaotic mix.