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
161 of 162
Newest spectrum
41 min ago
Systems named
313
Swell · wind sea
208 · 105
Seas crossing
15 buoys
Storms, last month
172 placed →
Window
The last 4 days
Method
Reference

Buoys where the two largest systems now meet at 40° or more with comparable energy, in seas of 1.5 m or more: steeper, less regular waves than the height alone suggests.

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

StationCrossingSystems
Point Loma South, CA 46232 · California · 1 h ago 75° apartthe smaller holds 33% of the larger's energy
  • Wind sea1.3 m9 sW
  • Groundswell0.8 m15 sSSW
West California 46059 · California · 41 min ago 65° apartthe smaller holds 48% of the larger's energy
  • Swell1.6 m12 sNW
  • Swell1.1 m7 sNNE ↑ building
  • Groundswell0.8 m15 sSE ↓ fading
Mission Bay West, CA 46258 · California · 1 h ago 55° apartthe smaller holds 40% of the larger's energy
  • Wind sea1.4 m9 sW
  • Groundswell0.9 m15 sSW ↑ building