We use the methods of exponential asymptotics to study the solutions of a one dimensional wave equation with a non-constant wave speed c(x,t) modelling, for example, a slowly varying spatio-temporal topography. The equation reads htt(x,t) = (c2(x,t)hx(x,t))x' (1) where the subscripts denote differentiation w.r.t. the parameters x and t respectively. We focus on the exponentially small reflected wave that appears as a result of a Stokes phenomenon associated with the complex singularities of the speed. This part of the solution is not captured by the standard WKBJ (geometric optics) approach. We first revisit the time-independent propagation problem using resurgent analysis. Our results recover those obtained using Meyers integral-equation approach or the Kruskal-Segur (K-S) method. We then consider the time-dependent propagation of a wavepacket, assuming increasingly general models for the wave speed: time independent, c(x), and separable, c1(x)c2(t). We also discuss the situation when the wave speed is an arbitrary function, c(x,t), with the caveat that the analysis of this setup has yet to be completed. We propose several methods for the computation of the reflected wavepacket. An integral transform method, using the Dunford integral, provides the solution in the time independent case. A second method exploits resurgence: we calculate the Stokes multiplier by inspecting the late terms of the dominant asymptotic expansion. In addition, we explore the benefits of an integral transform that relates the coefficients of the dominant solution in the time-dependent problem to the coefficients of the dominant solution in the time-independent problem. A third method is a partial differential equation extension of the K-S complex matching approach, containing details of resurgent analysis. We confirm our asymptotic predictions against results obtained from numerical integration.

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The behaviour of free-surface gravity waves on small Froude number fluid flow past some obstacle cannot be determined using ordinary asymptotic power series methods, as the amplitude of the waves is exponentially small. An exponential asymptotic method is used by Chapman and Vanden-Broeck (2006) to consider the problem of two-dimensional, steady flow past a submerged obstacle in the small Froude number limit, finding that a steady downstream wavetrainis switched on rapidly across a curve known as a Stokes line. Here, equivalent wavetrains on three-dimensional and unsteady flow configurations are considered, and Stokes switching causedby the interaction between exponentially small free-surface components is shown to play an important role in both cases. The behaviour of free-surface gravity waves is introduced by considering the problem of steady free-surface flow due to a line source. A steady wavetrain is shown to exist in the far field, and the behaviour of these waves is compared to existing numerical results. The problem of unsteady flow over a step is subsequently investigated, with the flow behaviour formulated in terms of Lagrangian coordinates so that the position of the free surface is fixed. Initially, the problem is linearized in the step-height, and the steady wavetrain is shown to spread downstream over time. The position of the wavefront is determined by considering the full Stokes structure present in the problem. The equivalent fully-nonlinear problem is then considered, with the position of the Stokes lines, and hence the wavefront, being determined numerically. Finally, linearized three-dimensional free-surface flow past an obstacle is considered in both the steady and unsteady case. The surface is shown to contain downstream longitudinal and transverse waves. These waves are shown to propagate downstream in the unsteady case, with the position of the wavefront again determined by considering the full Stokes structure of the problem.

When traditional linearised theory is used to study free-surface flows past a surface-piercing object or over an obstruction in a stream, the geometry of the object is usually lost, having been assumed small in one or several of its dimensions. In order to preserve the nonlinear nature of the geometry, asymptotic expansions in the low-Froude or low-Bond limits can be derived, but here, the solution invariably predicts a waveless free-surface at every order. This is because the waves are in fact, exponentially small, and thus beyond-all-orders of regular asymptotics; their formation is a consequence of the divergence of the asymptotic series and the associated Stokes Phenomenon. In this thesis, we will apply exponential asymptotics to the study of two new problems involving nonlinear geometries. In the first, we examine the case of free-surface flow over a step including the effects of both gravity and surface tension. Here, we shall see that the availability of multiple singularities in the geometry, coupled with the interplay of gravitational and cohesive effects, leads to the discovery of a remarkable new set of solutions. In the second problem, we study the waves produced by bluff-bodied ships in low-Froude flows. We will derive the analytical form of the exponentially small waves for a wide range of hull geometries, including single-cornered and multi-cornered ships, and then provide comparisons with numerical computations. A particularly significant result is our confirmation of the thirty-year old conjecture by Vanden-Broeck & Tuck (1977) regarding the impossibility of waveless single-cornered ships.