ABSTRACT
Ocean waves are generated mainly by the action of wind on water. The waves are formed initially by a complex process of resonance and shearing action, in which waves of differing wave height, length, period and direction are produced. Once formed, ocean waves can travel for vast distances, spreading in area and reducing in height, but maintaining wavelength and period. This process is called dispersion, and is shown in Figure 8.1. For example, waves produced in the gales of the 'roaring forties' have been monitored all the way north across the Pacific Ocean to the shores of Alaska (a distance of 10000 km).
