Canonical variables for steep planar water waves over nonuniform beds

Abstract

An explicit expression in terms of canonical variables is obtained for the Hamiltonian functional determining the fully nonlinear dynamics of two-dimensional potential flows of an ideal fluid with a free surface over an arbitrary nonuniform depth. The canonically conjugate variables are derived from the previously developed noncanonical conformal description of water waves over a strongly undulating bottom [V. P. Ruban, Phys. Rev. E 70, 066302 (2004)]. Also an alternative approach to the problem is discussed, which gives weakly nonlinear Hamiltonian models of different orders, both for free-surface waves and for interfacial waves.