Wind waves are highly complex, random phenomena. One way to describe the irregular nature of the sea surface is the use of wave energy spectrum. Spectral information for wind waves in the Black Sea is extremely limited. Knowledge on spectral characteristics of wind waves would contribute to scientific, engineering and operational coastal and marine activities in the Black Sea. The aim of the present thesis is to investigate characteristics of wind wave spectra for the Eastern Black Sea. This would allow detailed understanding of the nature of the waves occurring in this enclosed basin. Long-term wave measurements obtained by directional buoys deployed offshore at Sinop, Hopa and Gelendzhik were utilized as the three sets of wave data. Records were analyzed to identify them as uni-modal or multi-modal spectra, and occurrences of spectral peaks were computed. Single peaked spectra were studied as belonging to fully arisen or developing sea states. Model parameters of JONSWAP and PM spectra were estimated for the observed spectra by using a least square error method. The records of developing seas were further analyzed to select the ones belonging to stable wind conditions. Fetch dependencies of non-dimensional spectral variables, mean parameters of JONSWAP model spectrum and the envelop of dimensionless spectra were investigated for this data sub-set.

Analytical solutions for the linear and nonlinear shallow-water wave equations are developed for evolution and runup of tsunamis &ndash / long waves&ndash / over one- and two-dimensional bathymetries. In one-dimensional case, the nonlinear equations are solved for a plane beach using the hodograph transformation with eigenfunction expansion or integral transform methods under different initial conditions, i.e., earthquake-generated waves, wind set-down relaxation, and landslide-generated waves. In two-dimensional case, the linear shallow-water wave equation is solved for a flat ocean bottom for initial waves having finite-crest length. Analytical verification of source focusing is presented. The role of focusing in unexpectedly high tsunami runup observations for the 17 July 1998 Papua New Guinea and 17 July 2006 Java Island, Indonesia tsunamis are investigated. Analytical models developed here can serve as benchmark solutions for numerical studies.