ABSTRACT
Ocean surface waves refer to a moving succession of irregular crests and troughs on the ocean surface. A slight disturbance of the sea surface will be exhibited as tiny round ripples or capillary waves as the wind begins to blow. Waves grow in length, height, and energy as the wind continues to blow. The growth of waves results because the disturbed sea surface is increasingly more directly exposed to the wind. This chapter describes three wave theories to explain the relationship between surface-wave data and water velocity, acceleration, and pressure beneath the waves for engineering purposes. The theories are linear (Airy) wave theory, non-linear Stokes wave theory, and cnoidal wave theory. A storm over near shore waters can generate large water level fluctuations if the storm is sufficiently strong and the near shore region is shallow over a large enough area. This is commonly known as a storm surge or meteorological tide.
