Editing Wind wave (section)

{{short description|Surface waves generated by wind on open water}}
{{redirect|Ocean wave||Ocean Wave (disambiguation)}}
[[File:Porto Covo Outubro 2014-3.jpg|thumb|300x300px|A man standing next to large ocean waves at [[Porto Covo|Porto Covo, Portugal]]]]
[[File:Wedge Video D Ramey Logan.ogv|300px|thumb|Video of large waves from [[Hurricane Marie (2014)|Hurricane Marie]] along the coast of [[Newport Beach, California|Newport Beach]], [[California]]]]

In [[fluid dynamics]], a '''wind wave''', or '''wind-generated water wave''', is a [[surface wave]] that occurs on the [[free surface]] of [[Body of water|bodies of water]] as a result of the [[wind]] blowing over the water's surface. The contact distance in the [[wind direction|direction of the wind]] is known as the ''[[Wind fetch|fetch]]''. Waves in the oceans can travel thousands of kilometers before reaching land. Wind waves on Earth range in size from small [[capillary wave|ripples]] to waves over {{convert|100|ft|m|abbr=on|order=flip}} high, being limited by wind speed, duration, fetch, and water depth.<ref>{{cite book | first=H. L. | last=Tolman | title=CBMS Conference Proceedings on Water Waves: Theory and Experiment | location=Howard University, US, 13–18 May 2008 | publisher=World Scientific Publications | url=http://polar.ncep.noaa.gov/mmab/papers/tn270/Howard_08.pdf | editor-first=M.F. | editor-last=Mahmood | date=23 June 2010 | isbn=978-981-4304-23-8}}</ref>

When directly generated and affected by local wind, a wind wave system is called a '''wind sea'''. Wind waves will travel in a [[great circle route]] after being generated&nbsp;– curving slightly left in the southern hemisphere and slightly right in the northern hemisphere. After moving out of the area of fetch and no longer being affected by the local wind, wind waves are called ''[[swell (ocean)|swells]]'' and can travel thousands of kilometers. A noteworthy example of this is waves generated south of Tasmania during heavy winds that will travel across the Pacific to southern California, producing desirable surfing conditions.<ref>Holthuijsen (2007), page 5.{{quote needed|date=May 2024}}</ref> Wind waves in the ocean are also called '''ocean surface waves''' and are mainly ''[[gravity waves]]'', where [[gravity]] is the main equilibrium force.

Wind waves have a certain amount of [[randomness]]: subsequent waves differ in height, duration, and shape with limited predictability. They can be described as a [[stochastic process]], in combination with the physics governing their generation, growth, propagation, and decay&nbsp;– as well as governing the interdependence between flow quantities such as the [[free surface|water surface]] movements, [[flow velocity|flow velocities]], and water [[pressure]]. The key [[statistic]]s of wind waves (both seas and swells) in evolving [[sea state]]s can be predicted with [[wind wave model]]s.

Although waves are usually considered in the water seas of Earth, the hydrocarbon seas of [[Titan (moon)|Titan]] may also have wind-driven waves.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lorenz |first1=R. D. |last2=Hayes |first2= A. G. |year=2012 |title=The Growth of Wind-Waves in Titan's Hydrocarbon Seas |journal=Icarus |volume=219 |issue=1 |pages=468–475|bibcode=2012Icar..219..468L |doi=10.1016/j.icarus.2012.03.002 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Barnes|first1=Jason W.|last2=Sotin|first2=Christophe|last3=Soderblom|first3=Jason M.|last4=Brown|first4=Robert H.|last5=Hayes|first5=Alexander G.|last6=Donelan|first6=Mark|last7=Rodriguez|first7=Sebastien|last8=Mouélic|first8=Stéphane Le|last9=Baines|first9=Kevin H.|last10=McCord|first10=Thomas B.|date=2014-08-21|title=Cassini/VIMS observes rough surfaces on Titan's Punga Mare in specular reflection|journal=Planetary Science|volume=3|issue=1|pages=3|doi=10.1186/s13535-014-0003-4|issn=2191-2521|pmc=4959132|pmid=27512619|bibcode=2014PlSci...3....3B |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Heslar|first1=Michael F.|last2=Barnes|first2=Jason W.|last3=Soderblom|first3=Jason M.|last4=Seignovert|first4=Benoît|last5=Dhingra|first5=Rajani D.|last6=Sotin|first6=Christophe|date=2020-08-14|title=Tidal Currents Detected in Kraken Mare Straits from Cassini VIMS Sun Glitter Observations|journal=The Planetary Science Journal|language=en|volume=1|issue=2|pages=35|doi=10.3847/PSJ/aba191|arxiv=2007.00804 |bibcode=2020PSJ.....1...35H |s2cid=220301577 |issn=2632-3338 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Waves in bodies of water may also be generated by other causes, both at the surface and underwater (such as [[watercraft]], [[animal]]s, [[waterfall]]s, [[landslide]]s, [[earthquake]]s, [[Bubble (physics)|bubble]]s, and [[impact event]]s).