Water science news, explainers, and statistics covering freshwater, hydrology, lakes, rivers, groundwater, ice, and Earth’s connected water systems.
Ocean waves break when they enter water shallow enough for the seabed to interfere with their motion. The lower part of the wave slows first. Its wavelength then shortens as the crest grows steeper. Once the crest moves faster than the water beneath can support it, the top pitches forward and releases the wave’s energy…
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Average wave period summarizes the broader mix of waves recorded during a sampling interval. Dominant wave period identifies the period associated with the strongest peak in the wave-energy spectrum. The numbers can differ because the ocean usually carries several wave systems at once, with energy spread across many frequencies rather than concentrated in identical crests.…
Wave height measures the vertical distance from a trough to the next crest. Wavelength measures the horizontal distance between matching points on successive waves, usually crest to crest or trough to trough. One describes how tall a wave is, while the other describes how widely its repeating shape is spaced across the water. The two…
Wind waves are being generated by the wind where they are observed, while swell has traveled away from the weather that created it. Local wind waves are usually shorter and steeper, with less orderly crests. Swell commonly arrives as longer, smoother crests with a steadier direction. A single stretch of ocean can carry both at…
