Nonlinear Processes in Geophysics www.nonlin-processes-geophys.net 1023-5809 1607-7946 16 2 2009 10.5194/npg-16-351-2009 http://www.nonlin-processes-geophys.net/16/351/2009/ http://www.nonlin-processes-geophys.net/16/351/2009/npg-16-351-2009.html http://www.nonlin-processes-geophys.net/16/351/2009/npg-16-351-2009.pdf 351 363 2009-04-29 Variability in spatial patterns of long nonlinear waves from fast ferries in Tallinn Bay T. Torsvik tomas.torsvik@bccs.uib.no I. Didenkulova T. Soomere K. E. Parnell Bergen Center for Computational Science, UNIFOB, University of Bergen, Thormøhlensgate 55, 5008 Bergen, Norway Center for Nonlinear Studies, Institute of Cybernetics, Tallinn University of Technology, Akadeemia tee 21, 12618 Tallinn, Estonia Department of Nonlinear Geophysical Processes, Institute of Applied Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, 46 Uljanov Street, Nizhny Novgorod, 603950, Russia School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia High-speed ferries are known to generate wakes with unusually long periods, and occasionally large amplitudes which may serve as a qualitatively new forcing factor in coastal regions that are not exposed to a sea swell. An intrinsic feature of such wakes is their large spatial variation. We analyze the variability of wake conditions for the coasts of Tallinn Bay, the Baltic Sea, a sea area with very intense fast ferry traffic. 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