Ocean Wave Measurement Techniques

  • R. H. Stewart
Chapter

Abstract

Ocean waves have been measured for many reasons in many places, and there exists a large body of literature on techniques for obtaining these measurements. I have no intention of surveying this work. Rather I wish to outline the important techniques, their accuracy and applicability, with some emphasis on the new methods of studying the fine structure of the sea surface and the directional distribution of all waves from centimetre to hectometre wave lengths.

Keywords

Wave Height Short Wave Significant Wave Height Wave Spectrum Ocean Wave 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  1. BARBER, N.F. and M.J. TUCKER. 1962. Wind waves, In The Sea, Vol. 1, edited by M.N. Hill, Wiley-Intersciences, New York: 664–699.Google Scholar
  2. BARNETT, T.P. and J.C. WILKERSON. 1967. On the generation of ocean wind waves as inferred from airborne radar measurements of fetch-limited spectra. Journal of Marine Research, 25: 292–328.Google Scholar
  3. BARRICK, D.E. 1972. First-order theory and analysis of MF/HF/VHF scatter from the sea. IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, 20: 2–10.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  4. BOWDEN, K.F. and R.A. WHITE. 1966. Measurements of the orbital velocities of sea waves and their use in determining the directional spectrum. Geophysical Journal, 12: 33–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  5. CARTWRIGHT, D.E. 1963. The use of directional spectra in studying the output of a wave recorder on a moving ship. In Ocean-wave Spectra, Prentice-Hall: 203–218.Google Scholar
  6. COX, C. 1955. Optical measurements of sea surface roughness. Proceedings of the First Conference on Coastal Engineering Instruments, Berkeley, 1955, Council on Wave Research: 1–15.Google Scholar
  7. COX, C. and W. MUNK. 1954. Statistics of the sea surface derived from sun gitter. Journal of Marine Research, 13: 198–227.Google Scholar
  8. DALEY, J.C. 1973. Wind dependence of radar sea return. Journal of Geophysical Research, 78: 7823–7833.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  9. DAVIS, R.E. and L.A. REGIER. 1977. Methods for estimating directional wave spectra from multi-element arrays. Journal of Marine Research, 35: 453–477.Google Scholar
  10. DIETRICH, G., K. KALLE, W. KRAUS and G. SIEDLER. 1975. Allgemeine Meereskunde, 3. Auflage Gebrüder Borntraeger, Berlin, 593 pp.Google Scholar
  11. ESTEVA, D. and D.L. HARRIS. 1970. Comparison of pressure and staff wave gauge records. Proceedings of 12th Coastal Engineering Conference, Washington, D.C., 1970. New York, American Society of Civil Engineers: 101–116.Google Scholar
  12. FARMER, H.G. 1963. A data acquisition and reduction system for wave measurements. In Ocean Wave Spectra, Prentice-Hall: 227–233.Google Scholar
  13. HASSELMANN, K., T.P. BARNETT, E. BOUWS, H. CARLSON, D.E. CARTWRIGHT, K. ENKE, J.A. EWING, H. GIENAPP, D.E. HASSELMANN, P. KRUSEMAN, A. MEERBURG, P. MULLER, D.J. OLBERS, K. RICHTER, W. SELL and H. WALDEN. 1973. Measurements of wind-wave growth and swell decay during the joint North Sea wave project (JONSWAP). Deutschen Hydrographischen Zeitschrift, Reihe A8, 12, 95 pp.Google Scholar
  14. HAUBRICH, R. 1968. Array design. Seismological Society of America Bulletin, 58: 977–991.Google Scholar
  15. HUGHES, B.A., H.L. GRANT and R.W. CHAPPELL. 1977. A fast response surface-wave slope meter and measured wind-wave moments. Deep-Sea Research, 24: 1211–1223.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  16. KELLER, J.C. and J.W. WRIGHT. 1975. Microwave scattering and the straining of wind-generated waves. Radio Sciences, 10: 139–147.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  17. KINSMAN, B. 1960. Surface waves at short fetches and low wind speeds — a field study. Vol. 1, Johns Hopkins University, Chesapeake Bay Institute Technical Report 19, 581 pp.Google Scholar
  18. LARSEN, T.R. and J.W. WRIGHT. 1975. Wind-generated gravity-capillary waves: laboratory measurements of temporal growth rates using microwave backscatter. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 70: 417–436.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  19. LIPA, B. 1977. Derivation of directional ocean-wave spectra by integral inversion of second-order radar echoes. Radio Sciences, 12: 425–434.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  20. LONGUET-HIGGINS, M.S. 1952. On the statistical distribution of the heights of sea waves. Journal of Marine Research, 11: 245–266.Google Scholar
  21. LONGUET-HIGGINS, M.S., D.E. CARTWRIGHT and N.D. SMITH. 1963. Observations of the directional spectrum of sea waves using the motions of a floating buoy. In Ocean Wave Spectra, Prentice-Hall: 111–132.Google Scholar
  22. MA, M.T. 1974. Theory and application of antenna arrays. Wiley-Interscience, New York.Google Scholar
  23. MITSUYASU, H. 1977. Measurement of the high frequency spectrum of ocean surface waves. Journal of Physical Oceanography, 7: 882–891.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  24. MOFFET, A.T. 1968. Minimum-redundancy linear arrays. IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, 16: 172–175.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  25. NAGATA, Y. 1964. The statistical properties of orbital wave motions and their application for the measurement of directional wave spectra. Journal of the Oceano graphical Society of Japan, 19: 169–181.Google Scholar
  26. NEUMANN, G. and W.J. PIERSON. 1966. Principles of physical oceanography. Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 545 pp.Google Scholar
  27. PARKER, R.L. 1977. Understanding inverse theory. Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences, 5: 35–64.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  28. PHILLIPS, O.M. 1966. The dynamics of the upper ocean. Cambridge University Press, 261 pp.Google Scholar
  29. ROSS, D.B., V.J. CARDONE and J.W. CONWAY. 1970. Laser and microwave observations of sea-surface conditions for fetch-limited 17- to 25-m/s winds. IEEE Transactions of Geoseience Electronics, 8: 326–336.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  30. STEWART, R.H. 1977. A discus-hulled wave measuring buoy. Ocean Engineering, 4: 101–107.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  31. STILWELL, D. 1969. Directional energy spectra of the sea from photographs. Journal of Geophysical Research, 74: 1974–1986.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  32. SUGIMORI, Y. 1975. A study of the application of the holographic method to the determination of the directional spectrum of ocean waves. Deep-Sea Research, 22: 339–350.Google Scholar
  33. TEAGUE, C., G. TYLER and R.H. STEWART. 1977. Studies of the sea using HF radio scatter. IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, 25: 12–19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  34. TUCKER, M.J. 1959. The accuracy of wave measurements made with vertical accelerometers. Deep-Sea Research, 5: 185–192.Google Scholar
  35. TYLER, G.L., C.C. TEAGUE, R.H. STEWART, A.M. PETERSON, W.H. MUNK and J.W. JOY. 1974. Wave directional spectra from synthetic aperture observations of radio scatter. Deep-Sea Research, 21: 989–1016.Google Scholar
  36. WALSH, E.J., E.A. ULIANA and B.S. YAPLEE. 1978. Ocean wave heights measured by a high-resolution pulse-limited radar altimeter. Boundary-Layer Meteorology, 13: 263–276.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  37. WIEGEL, R.L. 1964. Oceano graphical Engineering. Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 532 pp.Google Scholar
  38. WRIGHT, J.W. 1966. Backscattering from capillary waves with applications to sea clutter. IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, 14: 749–754.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  39. WRIGHT, J.W. and W.C. KELLER. 1971. Doppler spectra in microwave scattering from wind waves. Physics of Fluids, 14: 466–474.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Copyright information

© Plenum Press, New York 1980

Authors and Affiliations

  • R. H. Stewart

There are no affiliations available

Personalised recommendations