Measuring Ocean Surface Waves
Abstract
Abstract Propagating waves on the ocean surface can be represented as a stochastic process whose statistics are characterized by a spectrum. This paper reviews methods for measuring the wave spectrum and related quantities. Observations begin by sensing fluid dynamical properties of the sea surface over space and/or time. Visual observations, collected routinely since the mid‐18th century, comprise the longest‐running wave record. Nearshore measurement methods continue to advance, including traditional pressure and acoustic sensing as well as newer technologies like distributed acoustic sensing and LiDAR. Detailed small‐scale wave physics can now be explored with measurement techniques using light, including stereo‐imaging and polarimetry. Reductions in the size, cost, and power consumption of microelectronics have propagated through ocean wave instrumentation, most notably in wave buoys. Global networks of freely drifting miniature wave buoys offer novel observational capabilities. Remote sensing techniques based on radar and LiDAR continue to evolve and are widely deployed from land, ships, aircraft, autonomous vehicles, and satellites. Spaceborne altimeters form one of the most important records of wave height, and new spaceborne sensors now observe directional spectra globally with sampling akin to traditional altimetry. Aircraft and autonomous systems provide strategic sampling capabilities for detailed process studies and access to extreme storm environments. The quality and quantity of ocean wave measurements have never been greater. This review aims to help make sense of it all.
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Authors: Clarence O. Collins, André Amador, Alexander V. Babanin, Alvise Benetazzo, Filippo Bergamasco, Chris Blenkinsopp, Philippe Bonneton, Øyvind Breivik, Kai H. Christensen, Luke Vincent Colosi, Kevin Ewans, Johannes Gemmrich, Hannah Glover, Laurent Grare, Vika Grigorieva, Sergey Gulev, Danièle Hauser, Lars Robert Hole, Gaute Hope, Isabel Houghton, Je‐Yuan Hsu, Nathan J. M. Laxague, Luc Lenain, Björn Lund, Annika O’Dea, Mara Pistellato, Anne Karin Magnusson, Kévin Martins, Yoshinao Matsuba, Mark L. McAllister, Malte Müller, Marcello Passaro, Jean Rabault, Hugh Roarty, Pieter Smit, Madison M. Smith, Hitoshi Tamura, Natalia Tilinina, Ben Timmermans, Jim Thomson, Joey Voermans, Meagan Wengrove, Lucy R. Wyatt, Jeseon Yoo, Ian R. Young, Christopher J. Zappa, Dongxiao Zhang
Institutions: University of Washington, Columbia University, University of California San Diego, University of Sheffield, The University of Melbourne, University of Oxford, University of Victoria, The University of Tokyo, University of Miami, National Taiwan University, Sorbonne Université, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Oregon State University, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Université de Bordeaux, Defence Science and Technology Group, University of Oslo, Tel Aviv University, U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Technical University of Munich, Rutgers Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, University of Bergen, University of New Hampshire at Manchester, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, University of Bath, University of New Hampshire, Institute of Structure of Matter, Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Institut Polytechnique de Bordeaux, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology, National Taipei University, Istituto di Scienze Marine del Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, National Oceanography Centre, United States Army Corps of Engineers, University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez, Med Data Quest (United States), Environnements et Paléoenvironnements Océaniques et Continentaux, Norwegian Meteorological Institute, Ocean Energy (Norway), Institute of Oceanology. PP Shirshov Russian Academy of Sciences, Laboratoire Printemps, Institut National des Sciences de l'Univers, Laboratoire atmosphères, milieux, observations spatiales, Ocean Power Technologies (United States), Sofar (Italy), LIttoral ENvironnement et Sociétés, La Rochelle Université, Port and Airport Research Institute, University of Washington Applied Physics Laboratory, NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory