155 



was found among these four sources as shown in the following table. 



Computed Ratios 

 Hi/3 Hi/io H 



H, 



max 



Hi/3 Hi/3 



Hr 



H 



l/lO 



Remarks 



Pt. Arguello, Calif. 

 Wiegel (1949) 



Pt. Sur, Calif. 

 Wiegel (1949) 



Heceta Head, Ore. 

 Wiegel (1949) 



Cuttyhunk, Mass. 

 Seiwell (1949) 



Bermuda 



Seiwell (1949) 



Scripps 



Munk (1944) 



Average of wave 

 record values 



1.57 



1.57 



1.49 



1.54 



Pearson Type III fre- 1 .57 

 quency function 

 Model Putz(1951) 



1.30 

 1.27 

 1.30 



1.29 

 1.29 



1.85 1.42 



1.85 1.46 



1.91 1.47 



1.87 1.46 



1.81 1.41 



3 months of data 



14 months of data 



14 months of data 



10 months of data 



4 months of data 



46 waves 



Model based on 25 

 selected records 



By assuming that a random noise representation adequately describes 

 ocean waves, several statistical properties, including the frequency distribution 

 type referred to above, became evident. One statistical property of the waves 

 is the ordinates of the wave record curve should have a Gaussian distribution; 

 thus, by determining the frequency distribution of the ordinates the Pearson dis- 

 tribution of wave heights can be computed. 



An ordinate distribution analysis was constructed which determined the 

 percentage of time the water surface elevation is above a particular height or, 

 in the case of pressure-type gages, the percentage of time the differential pres- 

 sure exceeds a particular value. Wave information can be channeled to the 

 analyzer by connecting the input terminals directly to the Mark IX Wave Record- 

 er, to the output of the Mark IX Telephone Telemetering Receiver, or to the out- 

 put of a hand-operated curve tracer. The analyzer determined the percentage 

 of time the curve exceeds 10 different levels simultaneously so that the ordinate 

 distribution is adequately determined by scanning the record once. Each level 

 can be adjusted independently; measurements can be made at desired values ac- 

 cording to the amplitude of the record being analyzed. 



Twenty-one selected records that Putz used to determine the wave height 

 distribution were re-analyzed by the ordinate analyzer. The data indicated that 



