Rogue wave early warning through spectral measurements?

We study the spectra of the Peregrine soliton and higher-order rational solutions of the nonlinear Schrodinger equation (NLSE), which we use as a model of the rogue waves in optics and in the deep ocean. We show that these solutions have specific triangular spectra that are certainly easily measurable in optical systems and which may be amenable to characterisation in ocean environments. As the triangular feature of the solutions appears at an early stage of their evolution, this raises the possibility of early detection and possible localized warning of the appearance of rogue waves. We anticipate that studying the characteristics of "early warning spectra" of rogue waves may become an important future field of research. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.