Two-dimensional modulation instability of wind waves

Abstract

It is widely known that deep-water waves are modulationally unstable and that this can be modelled by a nonlinear Schrödinger equation. In this paper, we extend the previous studies of the effect of wind forcing on this instability to water waves in finite depth and in two horizontal space dimensions. The principal finding is that the instability is enhanced and becomes super-exponential and that the domain of instability in the modulation wavenumber space is enlarged. Since the outcome of modulation instability is expected to be the generation of rogue waves, represented within the framework of the nonlinear Schrödinger equation as a Peregrine breather, we also examine the effect of wind forcing on a Peregrine breather. We find that the breather amplitude will grow at twice the rate of a linear instability.