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 163
Newest spectrum
39 min ago
Systems named
296
Swell · wind sea
202 · 94
Seas crossing
2 buoys
Storms, last month
181 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
Mid Superior 45001 · Great Lakes · 49 min agoSwell 5 s 24° long crests
North Michigan 45002 · Great Lakes · 1 h agoWind sea 5 s 25° moderate crests
Rawley Point East, WI 45210 · Great Lakes · 1 h agoWind sea 5 s 25° moderate crests
East Superior 45004 · Great Lakes · 1 h agoWind sea 5 s 27° moderate crests
Grand Island North, MI 45211 · Great Lakes · 39 min agoWind sea 4 s 27° moderate crests
West Superior 45006 · Great Lakes · 1 h agoWind sea 3 s 37° moderate crests
East Lake Ontario 45012 · Great Lakes · 49 min agoSwell 2 s 81° short, confused crests
Oswego, NY 45215 · Great Lakes No spectrum in the last six hours