Bluegraph
SIMarineUS

Wave intelligence

The systems in the sea

A buoy's significant wave height sums everything in the sea: long groundswell from a storm a thousand miles off, a closer swell, the chop of the local wind. Each buoy's measured directional spectrum is partitioned into those systems, which are followed through time, used to place the storms the swells came from, and checked for seas that cross.

Stations analysed
162 of 164
Newest spectrum
32 min ago
Systems named
315
Swell · wind sea
218 · 97
Seas crossing
9 buoys
Storms, last month
223 placed →
Window
The last 4 days
Method
Reference

Every buoy by how orderly its largest system is: a narrow directional spread means long crests, as in groundswell; a wide one, short, confused seas.

Each petal is a system, pointing to where it comes from, north up. Its length grows with height (the ring is 4 m); its width is the directional spread. Swell Wind sea Storm placed

StationLargest systemDirectional spread
West Orca Bay, AK 46060 · Alaska · 42 min agoSwell 8 s 22° long crests
Lower Cook Inlet, AK 46108 · Alaska · 1 h agoWind sea 6 s 23° long crests
Portlock Bank, AK 46080 · Alaska · 1 h agoSwell 7 s 25° moderate crests
Central Aleutians, AK 46072 · Alaska · 42 min agoWind sea 9 s 26° moderate crests
Albatross Bank, AK 46078 · Alaska · 42 min agoSwell 7 s 29° moderate crests
Shumagin Islands, AK 46075 · Alaska · 42 min agoWind sea 4 s 30° moderate crests
Central Gulf of Alaska 46085 · Alaska · 42 min agoSwell 8 s 32° moderate crests
Cape Cleare, AK 46076 · Alaska · 42 min agoWind sea 5 s 34° moderate crests
South Kodiak, AK 46066 · Alaska · 42 min agoSwell 6 s 35° moderate crests
Cape Suckling, AK 46082 · Alaska · 42 min agoSwell 8 s 36° moderate crests
Southwest Bering Sea, AK 46070 · Alaska · 42 min agoWind sea 10 s 36° moderate crests
W Gulf of Alaska 46001 · Alaska · 42 min agoSwell 8 s 36° moderate crests
Central Bering Sea, AK Offshore 46035 · Alaska · 42 min agoWind sea 8 s 37° moderate crests
Seal Rocks, AK 46061 · Alaska · 42 min agoWind sea 8 s 37° moderate crests
Fairweather Ground, AK 46083 · Alaska · 42 min agoSwell 8 s 41° short, confused crests
Cape Edgecumbe, AK 46084 · Alaska · 42 min agoSwell 8 s 43° short, confused crests
Shelikof Strait, AK 46077 · Alaska · 42 min agoWind sea 4 s 46° short, confused crests
W Aleutians (Amchitka), AK 46071 · Alaska · 42 min agoSwell 10 s 48° short, confused crests
Western Prince William Sound 46081 · Alaska · 1 h agoWind sea 3 s 81° short, confused crests
Southeast Bering Sea, AK 46073 · Alaska No spectrum in the last six hours