Log in / create account

Article Discussion

Read Edit View history

Wave height
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Navigation Main page Contents Featured content Current events Random article Donate to Wikipedia

In fluid dynamics, the wave height of a surface wave is the difference between the elevations of a crest and a neighbouring trough.[1] Wave height is a term used by mariners, as well as in coastal, ocean and naval engineering. At sea, the term significant wave height is used as a means to introduce a well-defined and standardized statistic to denote the characteristic height of the random waves in a sea state. It is defined in such a way that it moreorless corresponds to what a mariner observes when estimating visually the average wave height.
Contents 1 Several definitions for different situations 2 See also 3 Notes 4 References
Merchant ship labouring in heavy seas as a huge wave looms astern

Interaction Help About Wikipedia Community portal Recent changes Contact Wikipedia

Several definitions for different situations

For a sine wave, the wave height H is twice the amplitude:[1]

[edit]

Toolbox

For a periodic wave it is simply the difference between the maximum and minimum of the surface
What links here Related changes Upload file Special pages Permanent link Cite this page

elevation z=(xc pt):[1]

Wave characteristics.

with c p the phase speed (or propagation speed) of the wave. The sine wave is a specific case of a periodic wave. In random waves at sea, when the surface elevations are measured with a wave buoy, the individual wave height Hm of each individual wave with an integer label m, running from 1 to N, to denote its position in a sequence of N wavesis the difference in elevation between a wave crest and trough in that wave. For this to be possible, it is necessary to first split the measured time series of the surface elevation into individual waves. Commonly, an individual wave is denoted as the time interval between two successive downward-crossings through the average surface elevation (upward crossings might also be used). Then the individual wave height of each wave is again the difference between maximum and minimum elevation in the time interval of the wave under consideration.[2] Significant wave height H1/3, or Hs or Hsig, in the time domain, is defined as the average height of the one-third part of the measured waves which are N in numberhaving the largest wave heights:[2]

Print/export Create a book Download as PDF Printable version

Languages Ting Vit

with Hm the individual wave heights, sorted in such a way that the highest wave has m=1 and the lowest wave is for m=N. Only the highest one-third is used, since this corresponds best with visual observations of experienced mariners: eyes and brain apparently focus on the higher waves seen.[2] Significant wave height Hm0, defined in the frequency domain, is used both for measured and forecasted wave variance spectra. Most easily, it is defined in terms of the variance m0 or standard deviation of the surface elevation:[3] where m0, the zeroth-moment of the variance spectrum, is obtained by integration of the variance spectrum. In case of a measurement, the standard deviation is the easiest and most accurate statistic to be used. Another wave-height statistic in common usage is the root-mean-square wave height (or RMS wave height) Hrms, defined as:[2]

with Hm again denoting the individual wave heights in a certain time series.

See also
Ocean surface wave Sea state Significant wave height

[edit]

Notes
1. 2. 3. ^ a b c Kinsman (1984) p. 38. ^ a b c d Holthuijsen (2007) p. 2428. ^ Holthuijsen (2007) p. 70.

[edit]

References
Holthuijsen, Leo H. (2007), Waves in Oceanic and Coastal Waters, Cambridge University Press, ISBN0521860288, 387 pages.

[edit]

Kinsman, Blair (1984), Wind waves: their generation and propagation on the ocean surface, Dover Publications, ISBN0-486-49511-6, 704 pages. Phillips, Owen M. (1977), The dynamics of the upper ocean (2nd ed.), Cambridge University Press, ISBN0-521-29801-6, viii & 336 pages.
Physical oceanography Waves and Currents Airy wave theory Ballantine Scale Boussinesq approximation Breaking wave Clapotis Cnoidal wave Cross sea Dispersion Infragravity waves Edge wave Equatorial waves Fetch Freak wave Gravity wave Internal wave Kelvin wave Luke's variational principle Mild-slope equation Radiation stress Rogue wave Rossby wave Rossby-gravity waves Sea state Seiche Significant wave height Sneaker wave Soliton Stokes drift Surf wave Swells Tsunami Undertow Ursell number Wave base Wavecurrent interaction Wave height Wave power Wave shoaling Wave radar Wave turbulence Waves and shallow water Shallow water equations Wind wave Wind wave model More... Atmospheric circulation Baroclinity Boundary current Coriolis effect Downwelling Eddy Ekman layer Ekman spiral Ekman transport ElNio-Southern Oscillation Geostrophic current Gulf Stream Halothermal circulation Humboldt Current Hydrothermal circulation Global circulation model Langmuir circulation Longshore drift Loop Current Maelstrom Ocean current Ocean dynamics Ocean gyre Rip current Thermohaline circulation Shutdown of thermohaline circulation Subsurface currents Sverdrup balance Whirlpool Upwelling GLODAP MOM POM WOCE More... Amphidromic point Earth tide Head of tide Internal tide Lunitidal interval Perigean spring tide Rule of twelfths Slack water Spring/neap tide Tidal bore Tidal force Tidal power Tidal race Tidal range Tidal resonance Tide Tide gauge Tideline More... Physical oceanography Other Abyssal fan Abyssal plain Atoll Bathymetric chart Cold seep Continental margin Continental rise Continental shelf Contourite Hydrography Guyot Oceanic basin Oceanic plateau Oceanic trench Passive margin Seabed Seamount Submarine canyon Coastal geography More... Black smoker Convergent boundary Divergent boundary Fracture zone Hydrothermal vent Marine geology Mid-ocean ridge Mohoroviidiscontinuity VineMatthewsMorley hypothesis Oceanic crust Outer trench swell Ridge push Seafloor spreading Slab pull Slab suction Slab window Subduction Transform fault Volcanic arc More... Benthic Deep ocean water Deep sea Littoral Mesopelagic Oceanic zone Pelagic Photic Surf zone Current sea level rise Future sea level Sea-level curve DART GLOSS NOOS OSTM WGS Ocean acoustic tomography Sofar bomb SOFAR channel Underwater acoustics Hydroacoustics Alvin Argo Benthic lander Color of water Marginal sea Mooring Ocean Ocean energy Ocean exploration Ocean observations Ocean pollution Ocean reanalysis Ocean surface topography Ocean thermal energy conversion Oceanography Pelagic sediments Sea surface microlayer Sea surface temperature Seawater Science On a Sphere Thermocline Underwater glider Water column World Ocean Atlas NODC More...

Waves

Circulation

Tides

Landforms

Plate tectonics

Ocean zones Sea level Acoustics

Other

Categories: Water waves | Physical oceanography

This page was last modified on 17 May 2011 at 14:10. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. See Terms of Use for details. Wikipediais a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. Contact us Privacy policy About Wikipedia Disclaimers