Definitions and Key Parameters
Generally, water waves are described by two length parameters, wave height and wavelength, and one temporal parameter, wave period. Wave height is the vertical distance between the wave crest and trough. Wavelength is the horizontal distance between two successive wave crests or wave troughs. Wave period is the time needed for two successive crests or troughs to pass a spatial reference point. Direction of wave propagation is also an important parameter and critical when computing wave-induced current and sediment transport (Wang et al. 1998, 2002). Scientific convention describes the wave direction as “direction to which it propagates” measured clockwise from the x-axis. In practice, however, wave direction is often reported as “direction from which the waves propagate,” similar to the description of wind direction. It is necessary to specify the wave direction convention to avoid potential confusion. Depth over which the waves propagate is also...
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Wang, P., Stone, G.W., Cheng, J. (2019). Nearshore Wave Measurement. In: Finkl, C.W., Makowski, C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Coastal Science. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93806-6_225
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93806-6_225
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