Probability distribution of surface elevations of random non-breaking shoaling sea waves

The experiments of random shoaling sea waves, which propagate on different beach slopes from deep water, were designed and undertaken under seveal wave strengths using the modern large wave flune at the Physical Oceanography Laboratory. Ocean University of Qingdao. On the basis of laboratory data and analysis results, it is shown that for non-normal shoaling wave processes, the distribution of surface eleaation obtained from the experiments is in good agreement with that from the first three terms of Gram-Charlier series. The parameters of this distribution, that is, σ、λ₃ and λ₄ are the functions of water depth and wave strengths of measurement points, an empirical relationship with dimensionless parameter Hs/d is obtained to make it possible to predict the distribution of surface elevation of random shoaling sea waves.