Latest Wind wave Stories

The European Space Agency said its Earth observation satellite Envisat is being used to help track Hurricane Ike as it travels across the Gulf of Mexico. Knowing the strength and path of hurricanes is critical for issuing timely warnings, the ESA said, and satellites are key means of providing synoptic data on the forces that power such storms, such as cloud structure, wind and wave fields, sea surface temperature and sea surface height. "Thanks to Envisat's unique capability to acquire...

Residents along the Gulf Coast are bracing for Hurricane Ike as it travels over the Gulf of Mexico after ripping through Cuba and Haiti. ESA's Envisat satellite is tracking the storm, which is forecast to make landfall on the Texas coast by 13 September.Knowing the strength and path of hurricanes is critical for issuing timely warnings. Earth observation (EO) satellites are key means of providing synoptic data on the forces that power the storm, such as cloud structure, wind and wave fields,...

Scientists said on Wednesday that Australia's vast coastline is increasingly being battered by destructive "extreme waves" driven in part by climate change.Government experts said research into wave size changes over the past 45 years showed waves of 3 meters (9.8 feet) in height or more were increasing, hitting Australia's southern coasts as severe storms become more frequent and intense."Extreme wave conditions are greatest south of the Australian continent, associated with...

Following the extremely hot weather conditions hitting Europe, Norway experienced its biggest forest fire in the last half century earlier this month. Envisat satellite images were used in the fire's aftermath to get an overview of the damaged area for authorities and insurance companies.Extreme heat, dry conditions and strong winds quickly spread the fire in the cities of Mykland and Froland in the southern county of Aust-Agder, dampening fire-fighters attempts to squelch the blaze. Before...

Data from faint earth tremors caused by wind-driven ocean waves"”often dismissed as "background noise" at seismographic stations around the world"”suggest extreme ocean storms have become more frequent over the past three decades, according to research presented at the annual meeting of the Seismological Society of America.The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and other prominent researchers have predicted that stronger and more frequent storms may occur as a result of global...

Did you know that there's a new breakfast food that helps meteorologists predict severe storms? Down South they call it "GrITs."GrITs stands for Gravity wave Interactions with Tornadoes. "It's a computer model I developed to study how atmospheric gravity waves interact with severe storms," says research meteorologist Tim Coleman of the National Space Science and Technology Center in Huntsville, Alabama.According to Coleman, wave-storm interactions are very important. If a...

Text of report by Caribbean Media Corporation news agency website CASTRIES, St Lucia, CMC - Hotels on the island's north and east coasts were Thursday receiving a battering from huge waves caused by a deep low pressure weather system in the Atlantic. As nine to 12- foot surges began affecting the country, some establishments reported that sea surges accompanying the system sent water into rooms and other sections of the properties. Scores of boat owners took refuge in the sheltered...

Ocean surface currents have long been the focus of research due to the role they play in weather, climate and transportation of pollutants, yet essential aspects of these currents remain unknown.By employing a new technique "“ based on the same principle as police speed-measuring radar guns "“ to satellite radar data, scientists can now obtain information necessary to understand better the strength and variability of surface current regimes and their relevance for climate change....

Huge waves that struck Reunion Island and coastlines across Indonesia earlier this month all originated from the same storm that occurred south of Cape Town, South Africa, and were tracked across the entire Indian Ocean for some 10 000 kilometres over a nine-day period by ESA's Envisat satellite.Waves reaching up to 11 metres devastated France's Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean when it slammed into the southern port of Saint Pierre on 12 May. Six days later waves created from the same storm...

The origin and movement of waves reaching up to 11 metres that devastated France's Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean on Saturday evening have been detected with ESA's Envisat satellite.The waves that thrashed the southern port of Saint Pierre, leaving two fishermen missing, causing several piers to collapse and flooding several homes and businesses, originated south of Cape Town, South Africa, and travelled northeast for nearly 4000 km over a period of three days before slamming into Reunion...