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Abstract |
Understanding extreme events in nature is intrinsically challenging because the events
themselves are rare, and often appear in environments where measurements are difficult. A
particular case of interest concerns the infamous oceanic rogue or freak waves that have been
associated with many catastrophic maritime disasters. Studying such rogue waves is
problematic, and the phenomena remain very poorly understood. On the other hand,
significant experiments have been reported in optics in recent years, where advanced
measurement techniques have been used to quantify the appearance of extreme localised
optical fields that have been termed "optical rogue waves". In fact, there is a rigorous analogy
between the physics of wave propagation on the ocean and light pulse propagation in optical
fibre, and this has opened up possibilities to explore general properties of extreme value
dynamics using a convenient benchtop optical environment. The purpose of this talk will be to
review these results in optics and discuss the impact they have had on oceanography. The talk
will provide suitable introduction to aspects of ocean physics and optics, and will be accessible
to non-specialists. |
