Kombinierte Höhen- und Neigungsmessung von winderzeugten Wasserwellen am Heidelberger Aeolotron

In this thesis a new technique is presented, which is able to simultanously measure large and small scale water waves with high spatial resolution. This is achieved by a combined height and slope measurement in conjunction with digital image processing techniques. For the slope measurements a well established technique was improved. Utilizing light refraction at the water surface the slope of small scale waves is determined. This allows to sense the small scale structure of the water surface determined by capillary waves. To avoid systematic errors a detailed calibration procedure was developed. For absolute height measurements on coarser scales, a stereo technique based on the slope images was developed. The technical requirements and their implementation are described in detail and the applicability to water waves is shown. A combination of both techniques yields a scale overlapping method to measure water waves. Thus, simultanous measurements of gravity and capillary waves with high spatial resolution are enabled.