Wind and waves increasing!

[GarryP]

"Oceanic wind speeds and wave heights have increased significantly over the last quarter of a century according to a major new study undertaken by Australian researchers.*"

http://www.swinburne.edu.au/chancellery/mediacentre/media-centre/news/2011/03/wind-and-waves-growing-across-the-globe

Here is the abstract from Science, "The World;s Leading Journal of Original Scientific Research"

"Studies of climate change typically consider measurements or predictions of temperature over extended periods of time. Climate, however, is much more than temperature. Over the oceans, changes in wind speed and the surface gravity waves generated by such winds play an important role. We used a 23-year database of calibrated and validated satellite altimeter measurements to investigate global changes in oceanic wind speed and wave height over this period. We find a general global trend of increasing values of wind speed and, to a lesser degree, wave height, over this period. The rate of increase is greater for extreme events compared to the mean condition. "

Please don't make this political - take that to the "Off the Deep End" section.

 

[Tom.B]

This year on the NC coast sure has indicated a windier trend. Yikes!

 

[skipperdude]

My boating buddy works For the Alaska State Troopers on a 160 ft X crabber in the bearing sea. They are the ones who check on the the commercial Crabbers.

He told me of 142 mile per hour winds.

*He said there are no waves at that wind speed.**The wind just blows it flat. He said the boat had a 30Deg list but no waves.

SD

 

[Nomad Willy]

We had a rather normal winter here in SW SE Alaska. I heard we had winds of 60 or so but thats normal and winds of about 100 out in Clearence Strait is also normal but we don't see that scream'in stuff here in the bay.