On the distribution of crest to trough wave heights

In the present paper we derive the probability distribution function of crest to trough wave heights in a narrow-band, Gaussian stochastic process. It is shown that the distribution function is a one-parameter Rayleigh distribution where the parameter is expressed in terms of the correlation function of the given process. Comparison based on correlation values obtained via sea wave spectra indicate that the derived distribution function agrees well with observed data.