We report the first observation of extreme wave events (rogue waves) in parametrically driven capillary waves. Rogue waves are observed above a certain threshold in forcing. Above this threshold, frequency spectra broaden and develop exponential tails. For the first time we present evidence of strong four-wave coupling in nonlinear waves (high tricoherence), which points to modulation instability as the main mechanism in rogue waves. The generation of rogue waves is identified as the onset of a distinct tail in the probability density function of the wave heights. Their probability is higher than expected from the measured wave background.

We present experimental results on the properties of bounded turbulence in thin fluid layers. In contrast with the theory of two-dimensional (2D) turbulence, the effects of the bottom friction and of the spectral condensation of the turbulence energy are important in our experiment. Here we investigate how these two factors affect statistical moments of turbulent fluctuations. The inverse energy cascade in a bounded turbulent quasi-2D flow leads to the formation of a large coherent vortex (condensate) fed by turbulence. This vortex, depending on its strength, can substantially affect the turbulence statistics, even at small scales. Up to the intermediate strength of the condensate, the velocity moments similar to those in isotropic 2D turbulence are recovered by subtracting the coherent component from the velocity fields. A strong condensate leaves a footprint on the underlying turbulence; it generates stronger non-Gaussianity and reduces the efficiency of the inverse energy cascade. Remarkably, the energy flux in the cascade derived from the third-order structure function using the Kolmogorov flux relation gives physically meaningful values in a broad range of experimental parameters regardless of the condensate strength. This result has important implications for the analysis of the atmospheric wind data in upper troposphere and lower stratosphere.

Significance: Irreversibility is a fundamental aspect of the evolution of natural systems, and quantifying its manifestations is a challenge in any attempt to describe nonequilibrium systems. In the case of fluid turbulence, an emblematic example of a system very far from equilibrium, we show that the motion of a single fluid particle provides a clear manifestation of time irreversibility. Namely, we observe that fluid particles tend to lose kinetic energy faster than they gain it. This is best seen by the presence of rare “flight–crash” events, where fast moving particles suddenly decelerate into a region where fluid motion is slow. Remarkably, the statistical signature of these events establishes a quantitative relation between the degree of irreversibility and turbulence intensity.

We report the generation of large coherent vortices via inverse energy cascade in Faraday wave driven turbulence. The motion of floaters in the Faraday waves is three dimensional, but its horizontal velocity fluctuations show unexpected similarity with two-dimensional turbulence. The inverse cascade is detected by measuring frequency spectra of the Lagrangian velocity, and it is confirmed by computing the third moment of the horizontal velocity fluctuations. This is observed in deep water in a broad range of wavelengths and vertical accelerations. The results broaden the scope of recent findings on Faraday waves in thin layers [A. von Kameke et~al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 074502 (2011)].