Page numbers in italics refer to figures, tables, and photos.
acceleration of crests and breaking waves, 110
Adams, John, 24
Aegir Wave Power, 218
aircraft, supersonic, pattern generated by, 203, 204
Airy, George Biddell, 23–24, 50, 51, 52
Alsop, W., 112
amphidromic point, 185
amplitude dispersion, 52–53
amplitude of waves, and energy, 46
Anaconda wave attenuator, 226–27
angle of ship waves, 205–6
Antarctic Circumpolar Current, 197–98
Aquamarine Power, 227
Army Corps of Engineers, 117–18
atomic particles, wave equation for, 55
Australia, King Sound, 189
Australian Shallow Water Experiment (AUSWEX), 75–76
Automated Tropical Cyclone Forecast, 93
Banner, Michael, 77–78
Banzai Pipeline, Hawaii, ix, x
barrels, surfing, 111
Baschek, Burkard, 134
basins of oceans: currents in, 195, 195
gyres and prevailing winds, 195–96
tides and, 185–86
Batchelor, G. K., 34
Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia, 188, 189
beach currents, 115–16
beach cusps, 116–17
beach cycles, 116
Beaufort wind force scale, 59, 60
Benjamin, Thomas Brooke, 57, 138–39
Benjamin-Feir instability, 57, 139–41, 140
berms, 116
Bernoulli, Johann, 21
big waves: challenge of describing, 45–48
as exchanging energy, 56–58, 68–70
forecasting, 45
measurement of, 62–63
Russell and, 51
solitary, 54
Stokes and, 51–53
theories of, 53–54
weak waves compared to, 50–51
biomass, 219
blobs of water: breaking waves and, 107, 109, 109
energy and, 18
gravity, pressure, and, 18–19
illustrated, 16
orbits of, 22
trochoidal waves and, 52
in wave trains, 16–17
Boltzmann forecast program, 89
Bradshaw, Ken, 105
breaking waves: beach currents caused by, 115–16
beach cusps and, 116–17
beach cycles and, 116
breaking index (Xi), 111–12
described, 109–10
energy in, 3
extreme, for extreme surfers, 104–5, 106
Nearshore Canyon Experiment and, 119–21
plunging, 4, 4, 110–11, 113, 114
predicting worst, 111–12
sandbars and, 118–19
shape of, 110–11
swells becoming, 106–7, 108, 109, 109
tracking across continental shelf, 117–18
tsunamis arriving as, 146
white-caps, 76–79
British Weather Service, 62, 63
buoyancy, center of, on ship, 208
Cabrinha, Pete, 105
Caledonian Star, 126
California: Bodega Bay, 111
Cortez Bank, 105
La Jolla, 119
Cane, Mark, 161
Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, 116
capillary waves, 25. See also ripples
Cardone, Vincent, 76–77
Carter, Walter Ford, 124
catamarans, 214–15
Cauchy, Augustin-Louis, 22–23
caustics, 138
census of waves, 45–46
centrifugal force: tides and, 181, 182
wave generation and, 31–32
Challis, James, 24
Chapman, Sydney, 65
Checkmate Sea Energy, 226
circumpolar waves, 198
clipper ships, 211–12
collisions of wave trains, exchange of energy from, 56–58, 68–70
Columbus, Christopher, 194
columns of fluid, total spin of, 169–70, 171
comparison, law of, 209–10
continental shelf, tracking waves across, 117–18
conversion devices for wave energy, 224–28, 230–31
Copernicus, 178
Coriolis effect/force: described, 175–76
gyres, prevailing winds, and, 195–96
hurricanes and, 94
Rossby waves and, 163, 167, 168, 170, 171
spiral pattern of tides and, 186–88, 187
Cortez Bank, California, 105
cosine waves and statistical description of seas, 45–48
crests: acceleration of, and breaking waves, 110
creation of, 16
wind as leaping between, 76
critical layer in Miles model, 42–43
cross-seas: growth of waves in, 72–74, 73
maritime accidents and, 130
currents: Antarctic Circumpolar, 197–98
eddies and, 174
generation of, 198–99
gyres, prevailing winds, and, 195–96, 196
major, 195
potential power from, 219–20
rogue waves and, 136–38
Rossby waves and, 174–75
Sargasso Sea and, 197
speeds and volumes, 196–97
curvature of waves and energy generation, 217
curves, fitting with sine and cosine curves, 33–34, 34, 46–47
Cutty Sark, 212
d’Alembert, Jean LeRond, 21
Darbyshire, J., 62–63
Davisson, Joseph, 55
decay of swells, 49–50
Deep-Ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsumanis (DART) system of buoys, 155–56, 157
delayed oscillator model of internal waves, 161, 162, 163–64
Delft3D program, 115, 119, 121
Desjoyeaux, Michel, 214
de Vries, Gustav, 53–54
Diderot, Denis, 21
Dirac, Paul, 55
Discovery, 131
dispersion, 23
dissipation of whitecaps, 78–79
diverging waves in ship wake, 206, 207
dolphins and wave resistance, 215
domino example of wave, 10
Donelan, Mark A., 72, 74–75, 76
Doppler shift and synthetic aperture radar, 100–101, 103
drag, reducing, 214–15. See also resistance of ship hulls
Drake Passage, x
Duck, North Carolina, 117–18, 119
Duncan, James, 78–79
earthquakes and tsunamis, 142, 144, 145–49
ECMWF (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts), 90, 98, 234
eddies: in air, and wave generation, 35, 36
currents and, 199
vorticity and, 167
electricity, market for, 218–20
Elgar, Steve, 120
El Niño events: described, 158–61
internal waves in, 161, 162, 163–66
satellite image of, 160
EMEC. See European Marine Energy Centre
energy: in breaking waves, 3
of earthquakes, and tsunamis, 147, 148
electric, defined, 220–21
focusing of, and rogue waves, 135, 136–38
in jump rope example of wave, 12–13, 13
loss of when waves break, 78–79
to move ship through water, 200
propagation of, 18
in sinusoidal waves, 220
transfer of among waves, 56–58, 68–70, 78
transfer of from wind to waves, 37–41, 38
of types of waves, 8. See also renewable energy
wave energy spectrum
energy balance and wave forecasting, 82–84, 85–86, 88–89
Equatorial Counter Current, 198
Espinschied, Lloyd, 98
Euler, Leonhard, 21–22, 53, 189
European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), 90, 98, 234
European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC): Pelamis and, 217
tidal power testing by, 229–30
European Space Agency, 97
European Wave Energy Thematic Network, 223–24
Explorer, 134–35
extreme waves for extreme surfers, 104–5, 106
Farrell, Brian, 43
Ferrell, William, 191
fetch: described, 18
growth of waves and, 40
slope of waves and, 62–63
wave energy spectrum and, 68, 69
Floating Instrument Platform (FLIP), 42, 49
flow, general equations of, 22
focusing of wave energy and rogue waves, 135, 136–38
forced waves, 186
forecasting: comparison of models for, 92–94, 93
daily, with advanced models, 90–91
energy balance models of, 88–89
first generation of models for, 84–86
hindcasting and, 91–92
Hurricane Katrina and, 80–81
JONSWAP spectrum and, 68
need for, 45
origins of, 82–84
Pierson-Moskowitz spectrum and, 64
progress in, 232
real-time, and SWADE program, 72
research and, 234
satellites in, 96–101, 101, 102, 103
second generation of models for, 87
storm surges, 94–96
third generation of models for, 89–90
tsunamis, 154–57
form drag, 32–33
Fornberg, Bengt, 137
fossil fuels, energy production from, 218–19, 223
Foster, John, 157
Fourier, Joseph, 33–34, 34, 46–47
fracking, 219
France: amphibious landing in, 84, 192–93
Rance River, 229
freak waves. See rogue waves
frequency: energy as function of, 47
relationship between period and, 68
friction and breaking waves, 110
Froude, William, 208–11
Fukushima, Japan, tsunami in, ix, 149–51
fully developed seas, 63–64, 68, 84, 86
Galileo Galilei, 19–20, 178–79
Gauss, Carl Friedrich, 17
Gaussian distribution, 132
Gelci, Roberto, 85–86
geothermal power, 219
Germer, Lester, 55
Gerstner, Franz Joseph von, 53
glitter experiment to measure slope of waves, 59–62
Global Positioning System (GPS) and tsunami warnings, 157
gravity: center of, on ship, 208
tides and, 179–82
gravity waves: Airy and, 23–24
capillary waves compared to, 25
d’Alembert and, 21
Euler and, 21–22
generated by ships, 203–6, 205
Newton and, 20
oscillation of blobs and, 18–19
greenhouse effect, 219
Grilli, Stephan, 113
of waves, tendency for breaking among, 77, 78
growth of water waves: in cross-seas, 72–74, 73
energy transfers and, 87
measurement of, 43–44
resonance model for, 37–39, 38
when approaching beaches, 107, 108, 109, 109
whitecaps as limiting, 76
Gusiakov, Victor, 146–47
gusty winds: rogue waves and, 136
wave growth and, 43
Halley, Edmond, 197
Hasselmann, Klaus: energy exchange theory of, 68
energy transfer effect and, 41
JONSWAP campaign and, 66–70
satellite radar and, 103
spreading waves and, 70–71
Wave Modeling Group and, 89
wave quadruplets and, 57–58
Hawaii: Banzai Pipeline, ix, x
Kanehoe Bay, 228
Outer Log Cabins, 105
heaps of water in tides, 179, 181
height of waves: described, 1
glitter experiment to measure, 59–62
Helmholtz, Hermann von, 32, 43, 202
Henderson, Ross, 216
Herbers, T., 77
Higuera, P., 114
hindcasting, 91–92
Holland, K. Todd, 120
Holman, Rob, 233–34
Hooke, Robert, law of, 21
horizontal oscillation of blobs, 19
Hough, Sydney Samuel, 169
hovercrafts, 215
hull design, 212–13
hull speed, 210–11
Hurricane Camille, 91–92
Hurricane Katrina, ix, 80–81, 92, 96
hurricanes: Duck, North Carolina, and, 118
forecasting, 91–92
forecasting storm surge from, 94–96
hydraulic fracturing, 219
hydrofoils, 214–15
hydro power, 219
Imai, Jennifer, 134
Indian Ocean, tsunamis in, 113, 142–44, 145
Indonesia, tsunami in, 144, 145
instability: Benjamin-Feir, 57, 139–41, 140
at surface between two flowing fluids, 30–32, 32, 43, 44
instruments to measure wave energy spectrum, 67
interference of waves, 5, 6, 7, 7, 204
internal waves: described, 158
as focus of research, 233
Kelvin compared to Rossby, 166–67
role of in El Niño events, 161, 162, 163–66
Rossby, 168–70, 171, 172, 174–75
satellite confirmation of, 164–66
speed of, 173–74
International Geophysical Year, 65
Ioannou, Petros, 43
James, Richard, 84–85
Japan, tsunamis in, ix, 148–52, 149, 150
JASON-1 and JASON-2, 97–98, 193
Jeffreys, Harold, 32–33, 38, 76, 83
Jensen, R., 92
Joint North Sea Wave Project (JONSWAP), 67–70, 69, 87
JONSWAP spectrum and rogue waves, 141
jump rope example of wave, 12–14, 13
KdV (Korteweg-de Vries) waves, 54
Kelvin, Lord: career of, 25, 51
gusty winds and, 43
HMS Captain and, 210
prediction of tides and, 190–91, 191
transverse waves and, 206
water waves and, 25, 26, 30–32, 32, 202–3. See also Kelvin waves
Kelvin waves: described, 167–68
discovery of, 158
Rossby waves compared to, 166–67
knots, 59
Komen, Gebrand, 89
Korteweg, Diederik, 53–54
Korteweg-de Vries (KdV) waves, 54
Krogstadt, Harald, 134
Kruskal, Martin, 54
Kuroshiru Current, 197
Lagrange, Joseph-Louis, 22, 53
Lamb, Horace, 29–30
laminar flow, 37
landslides, underwater, and tsunamis, 144–45, 153–54
Laplace, Pierre-Simon, 189–90
Lehner, Susanne, 128, 129, 131
Le Provost, Christian, 193
Le Verrier, Urban, 24
Lighthill, Michael James, 43
Limpet oscillating water column, 227–28
Lin, M. Y., 44
linear processes in rogue waves, 135, 136–38
Liu, Paul C., 123
Liu, Yeuming, 233
longitudinal waves, 12
longshore currents, 115–16
Longuet-Higgins, M., 137
Mackers, 111
Maine, tidal station in, 229
Marshall Islands, navigation in, 6
Masuda, Yoshio, 220
Matusov, Peter, 79
MAXWAVE project, 127–29, 130–31
Maxwell, James Clerk, 51
Mayfield, Max, 81
mesoscale processes, 233
microscale processes, 234
microwave image, example of, 101, 102
Miles, John W.: forecasting and, 86
resonance model of, 34, 37–40, 38, 41–43, 74
Miller, S. D., 42
Mitsuyasu, Hisashi, 40
modeling: breaking waves, 112–15, 114
internal waves, 161, 162, 163–64
monitoring satellites, 97–98
tidal effects of, 183–84
motions of fluids with zero friction, 22
moving patterns of waves: horizontal, 14
Munk, Walter: Antarctic Circumpolar Current and, 197–98
glitter experiment of, 59–61
gyres and, 175
significant wave height and, 63
wave forecasting and, 82–84
wave spectra and, 48–50
on wind stress, 234
muscle, artificial, 226
National Academy of Sciences Ocean Studies Board, 233
National Hurricane Center, 91
National Marine Renewable Energy Centers, 223
navigation by wave patterns, 6
neap tides, 183–84
Nearshore Canyon Experiment (NCEX), 95, 119–21
nearshore dynamics, 233–34
Neumann, Gerhard, 84–85
New Orleans and Hurricane Katrina, 81, 96
Newton, Isaac, 20, 180–81, 189
New York City, tidal station in, 229
Noll, Greg, 104
nonlinear processes in rogue waves, 135–36, 138–41, 140
North Carolina: Cape Hatteras, 116
ocean-monitoring satellites, 97–98
Ocean Power Technologies, 228
Ocean Wave model, 89
oil, sources of, 218–19
Olagnon, Michel, 134
Onerato, M., 140–41
Open 60 rule for yachts, 213, 214
orbits. See blobs of water
Osborne, A. R., 140–41
oscillating water columns, 225, 227–28
Oyster pump, 227
Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, 156
Parsons, Mike, 105
particles, as waves, 54–55
Peahi Beach, Hawaii (Jaws), 104, 105
Pelamis wave energy converter, 216–18, 225
pendulums, 19–20
Penguin, 228
period: described, 1
as fundamental property of wave, 24
relationship between frequency and, 68
relationship between wavelength and, 19–20, 23
types of waves by, 8
phase speed, 30–31
Phillips, Owen M.: energy exchange of tall waves and, 56
resonance model of, 34–37, 36, 86
whitecap dissipation function of, 79
phytoplankton, 172
Pierson, Willard: forecasting and, 84–85
fully developed seas, 86
self-similar spectra, 64
Spectral Ocean Wave Model and, 88
spreading wave spectra, 70
Pierson-Moskowitz spectrum, 86, 87
plasma, solitary waves in, 54
Plate, E. J., 40
plunging waves: described, 4, 110–11
illustrated, 4
point absorbers, 225
Poisson, Siméon Denis, 23
polar plot of wave spectra, 72–73, 73
power, electric, defined, 220. See also wave power
PowerBuoy, 228
predicting. See forecasting
pressure and waves, 19
pressure differentials, 225
pressure sine waves and wind, 35
propagation of energy, 18
propeller design, 211
prows, shaping to reduce drag, 214
quadruplets and energy exchange, 58
Queen Elizabeth II, 125–26, 130
Queen Mary, ix–124
racing yachts, 213–14
radar altimeters, 71, 98–100, 193
radar in satellites, 98–101, 101, 103
rainbow, as spectrum, 46
Raines, Rod, 226
Ramapo, 125
Rankine, William J. M., 53
Rayleigh, Lord (John William Strutt), and random wave distribution, 132–34
illustrated, 7
swells becoming breaking waves and, 106–7, 108
renewable energy: fossil fuel burning compared to, 219
Pelamis wave energy converter, 216–18
politics of, 230–31
potential of wave power, 220–21
sources of, 219–20
tidal power, 219–20, 222, 228–30
wave power, 220–28
research, future directions for, 232–34
resistance of ship hulls: clipper ships, 211–12
described, 207–8
design of hulls, 212–13
exotic designs to decrease, 214–15
Froude experiments on, 208–11
racing yachts, 213–14
resonance and wave generation: forecasting from, 86
Miles, model of, 37–40, 38, 41–43
test of Miles theory of, 74–76
restoring forces, 18–19
Reutov, V. P., 43
Ring of Fire, 145
rip currents, 115
ripples: described, 24–26
period of, 8
wind speed required for, 31
rogue waves: causes of, 132–35, 136–38
defined, 127
famous, 126–27
formation of, 129–31
frequency of, 135–41
illustrated, xi
large ship encounters with, 124–26, 127
MAXWAVE study, 127–29
models, 135–40
Queen Mary and, ix–124
sailor accounts of, 123–24
Shackleton account of, 122–23
Rosenthal, Wolfgang, 127–28, 129, 131
Ross, Duncan, 76–77
Rossby waves: confirmation of, 165, 166
generation and propagation of, 169–70, 171
importance of, 172
Kelvin waves compared to, 166–67
western coastal currents and, 174–75
Russell, John Scott, 51, 52, 210
sandbars, 118–19
sand transport and longshore currents, 116
SAR (synthetic aperture radar), 98, 100–101, 101, 103
Sargasso Sea, 197
satellite observations: in forecasting, 89–90, 96–101, 101, 102, 103
satellite radar, 98–101, 101, 103
scanning radar altimeters, 98, 99–100
Schlax, Michael, 165
Schrödinger, Erwin, 55
Scotland: Orkney Islands, 217, 224
storm beaches in, 116
tidal power in, 229
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, 49, 50, 82, 119
Sea, Lake, and Overland Surge from Hurricanes (SLOSH) model, 95–96
fully developed, 63–64, 68, 84, 86
roughness of, and generation of waves by wind, 60–61
statistical description of, 45–48, 48
seiches, 185
self-organization of beach cusp patterns, 117
self-similar spectra, 64, 68, 86
Serio, M., 141
Seven Bridges of Konigsburg puzzle, 22
Severn Estuary, Great Britain, 189
Shackleton, Ernest, 122–23
shale gas, 219
shallow-water waves, 23–24, 185–86
sheltering theory, 32–33, 38, 76, 83
Shemer, Lev, 55
shipping, threats to, ix–x. See also rogue waves
clipper ships and, 211–12
shock waves generated by aircraft, 203, 204
short-wavelength Rossby waves, 174–75
significant wave heights, 63–64, 83–84
sine waves: ocean waves compared to, 14, 15
statistical description of sea and, 45–48
wind speed and, 30–31
sinusoidal waves, power in, 220
Slinky example of waves, 11, 11–12
Slocum, Joshua, 123–24
slope of ocean bottom: breaking waves and, 106–7, 108, 109, 109
modeling breaking waves based on, 112–15, 114
predicting breakers and, 111–12
types of breaking waves and, 110–11
slope of waves: mean slope and wave breaking, 78
measurement of, 60–62
resonance theory and, 75–76
storm waves, 62–63
SLOSH (Sea, Lake, and Overland Surge from Hurricanes) model, 95–96
Slunyaev, A., 136
small waterline area twin hull (SWATH) vessels, 72
Snyder, R. L., 39–40 solitary waves, 51, 53, 54
sound waves, model of, 11, 11–12
Southern Oscillation, 160–61
South Korea, tidal generator in, 229
Spectral Ocean Wave Model (SOWM), 88
spectrum, wave energy, 45–48, 48
speed: of currents, 196
Froude number for, 208
of groups of swells, 26–27, 27
of internal waves, 173–74
of Rossby waves, 170
of ships, and resistance, 207–11
of waves, computing, 1. See also wind speed
spiral pattern of tides, 169, 186–88, 187
Spooner, John, 61
spreading waves from storms, 70–74
spring tides, 183–84
standing offshore waves and beach cusps, 117
standing waves, 185
statistical description of seas, 45–48, 48
steep waves and maritime accidents, 130
Stewart, R., 137
Stokes, George Gabriel, 51–53
Stokes drift, 52
Stommel, Henry, 175
storms: estimating distance of, 49
slope of waves in, 62–63
spreading of waves from, 70–74
tall waves in, 131. See also storm surge
storm waves
storm surge: forecasting, 94–96
formation of, 94–95
storm waves: beach cycles and, 116
forecasting and monitoring, 80. See also rogue waves
string vibrations, mathematical analysis of, 21
Strutt, John William (Lord Rayleigh), and random wave distribution, 132–34
subduction and tectonic plate movement, 145
submarines, 215
Subramanya, I. A., 113
Subramanya, R., 113
Sullivan, Peter P., 233
Sumatran earthquake and tsunami, ix, 142–44, 146
sun: heat from, and currents, 196–97
tidal effects of, 183–84
sun-synchronous satellite orbits, 98
supersonic aircraft, pattern generated by, 203, 204
surface gravity waves, 18, 234
surface Kelvin waves, 167–68
surface tension and ripples, 25
Surface Wave Dynamics Experiment (SWADE), 71–74
surfers: beliefs of about swells, 26
plunging waves for, 4
types of waves preferred by, 111
surf zones, 3–5
surge converters, 225
Svendsen, I. A., 113
Sverdrup, Harald, 50, 63, 82–84, 198
SWADE (Surface Wave Dynamics Experiment), 71–74
SWAN (Simulating Waves Nearshore) model, 95, 115
swash zone, 115
SWATH (small waterline area twin hull) vessels, 72
swells: amphibious invasion of North Africa and, 82
as becoming surfing waves, 106–7, 108, 109, 109
decay of, 49–50
group speed, 27
illustrated, 2
navigating by interference patterns in, 6
number of waves in group of, 28
origins of, 26–27
period of, 8
in predictions of wind-driven wave heights, 72–74, 73
processes of, 7
spectra of, 48–50
synthetic aperture radar (SAR), 98, 100–101, 101, 103
syzygy, 183
tall waves, 131. See also big waves
Taylor, G. I., 34
tectonic plates, 145
terminators, 225
Thailand, tsunami in, 143–44
thermocline, 158
Thomson, William. See Kelvin, Lord
Kelvin waves
3GWAM prediction code, 72, 89, 91, 92, 96
three sisters effect, 123, 130
tidal bore, 189
tides: described, 177
Galileo and, 178–79
gravity and, 179–82
Newton and, 180–81
period of, 8
power from, 219–20, 222, 228–30
spiral pattern of, 169, 186–88, 187
variability of, 183–84, 188–89
time delay in waves, 13, 13–14
Titov, Vasily, 156
Topex/Poseidon satellite, 164–65, 193
tow-in surfing, 104–5
tracking waves across continental shelf, 117–18
trade winds, 194–95
transverse waves: described, 14, 167
illustrated, 13
in ship wake, 201, 202, 206–7, 207
traveling wave trains, 17
troughs, creation of, 16
tsunamis: described, 5–6
earthquakes and, 142, 144, 145–49
historic deadly, 152–54
illustrated, 5
in Japan, ix, 148–52, 149, 150
origins of, 144–46
period of, 8
speed of, 24
warning systems, 154–57
wavelengths of, 23
tubes, surfing, 111
Tuck, Ernest, 213
turbulence. See resonance and wave generation
turning wind, waves in, 74
undertow, 115
Ungava Bay, Quebec, 188–89
United Nations, International Geophysical Year, 65
U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency, 155, 156
U.S. National Weather Service, 90–91, 96
Vendee Globe races, 213–14
vertical oscillation of blobs, 18–19
viscosity of water, 18
Voith Hydro, 227
volcanoes and tsunamis, 144–45, 153, 154
vorticity: conservation of, 169, 170, 175
defined, 167
Waratah, 137
warning systems for tsunamis, 154–57
wartime, prediction of tides in, 82–84, 192–93
Warwick, R. W., 125–26
water under waves, 3, 15–17, 16. See also blobs of water water
waves. See waves
WaveAtlas project, 131
wave energy farms, 216–18
wave energy spectrum: describing waves, 45–48, 48
forecasting models from, 84–86, 87
in turning wind, 74
wave-followers, 75
wave forecasting. See forecasting
wave groups, 26–27
wavelength: described, 1
dominant, 40–41
relationship between period and, 19–20, 23
wavelength dispersion effect, 52
Wave Modeling Group, 89
wave power: challenges of, 221–22
conversion devices for, 224–28, 230–31
conversion efficiency estimates, 223
in Europe, 223–24
politics of, 230–31
potential of, 220–21
realities of in U.S., 222–23
wave resistance, 207–8
waves: construction of, 14–15
gravity and storage of energy in, 18
height of, 1, 59–62, 83–84, 132–34, 133
interference of, 5, 6, 7, 7, 204
jump rope example of, 12–14, 13
particles behaving as, 54–55
processes of, 7
properties of, 26
single domino example of, 10
types of, 8, 9. See also slope of waves
wave power
wave trains
specific types of waves
wave setup, 120
wave towers, 130
wave trains: blobs of water in, 16–17
exchange of energy from collisions of, 56–58, 68–70
rogue waves and, 140
WAVEWATCH I program, 89
WAVEWATCH III program, 90, 93, 96
weak waves, 23–24, 50–51. See also wind, generation of waves by
Weber, Ernst Heinrich, 15, 17, 56
Weber, Wilhelm Eduard, 15, 17, 56
Weggell, J. Richard, 112
Wegner, Alfred, 33
Weller, Robert A., 71
Wello Oy, 228
western intensification of currents, 197
White, Benjamin, 137
whitecaps, 76–79
white walls, 130
wind: Beaufort wind force scale, 59, 60
Coriolis effect, 94
currents and, 198–99
direction of, and spreading waves, 70–71
energy generation from, 219
gusts of, and rogue waves, 136
prevailing, and gyres, 195–96, 196
trade winds, 194–95
turning, waves in, 74. See also wind, generation of waves by
wind, rising
wind speed
wind, generation of waves by: experiments on, 39–41, 42
fetch and, 62–63
gusty winds, 43
importance of knowledge of, 43–44
Jeffreys and, 32–33
overview of, 29–30
roughness of sea and, 60–61
wind, rising: changes under, 7, 9, 25–26
whitecaps and, 76–78
wind speed: average energy spectrum for, 63–64
self-similar spectra and, 64
wave slope and, 75–76
whitecap dissipation function and, 79
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 119
World War II, amphibious landings during, 82–84, 192–93
Wright, John W., 40
Xi (empirical breaking index), 111–12
yachts, racing, 213–14
Young, Ian, 75
Yue, Dick K. P., 233
Zabusky, Norman, 54
Zakharov, Vladimir E., 55
Zebiac, Stephen, 161
Zhao, Qun J. Richard, 114