Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Wave Parameters

Wave Parameters

The simplest mechanical waves are associated with simple harmonic motion and repeat themselves for several cycles. These simple harmonic waves can be modeled using a combination of sine and cosine functions. Consider a simplified surface water wave that moves across the water's surface. Unlike complex ocean waves, in surface water waves, water moves vertically, oscillating up and down, whereas the disturbance of the wave moves horizontally through the medium. If a seagull is floating on the...

Shock Waves

Shock Waves

While deriving the Doppler formula for the observed frequency of a sound wave, it is assumed that the speed of sound in the medium is greater than the source's speed through it. When this condition is breached, a shock wave occurs.
When the source's speed approaches the speed of sound, constructive interference between successive wavefronts emitted by the source occurs immediately behind it. Initially, scientists believed that this constructive interference would result in such high...

Travelling Waves

Travelling Waves

A wave is a disturbance that propagates from its source, repeating itself periodically, and is typically associated with simple harmonic motion. Mechanical waves are governed by Newton's laws and require a medium to travel. A medium is a substance in which a mechanical wave propagates, and the medium produces an elastic restoring force when it is deformed.
Water waves, sound waves, and seismic waves are some examples of mechanical waves. For water waves, the wave propagation medium is...

Kinetic and Potential Energy of a Wave

Kinetic and Potential Energy of a Wave

All forms of waves carry energy; this is directly visualized in nature. For instance, the waves of earthquakes are so intense that they can shake huge concrete buildings, causing them to fall. Loud sounds can damage nerve cells in the inner ear, causing permanent hearing loss. The waves of the oceans can erode beaches.
In mechanical waves, the amount of energy is related to their amplitude and frequency. In the context of the above examples, large-amplitude earthquakes produce large...

Propagation of Waves

Propagation of Waves

When a wave propagates from one medium to another, part of it may get reflected in the first medium, and part of it may get transmitted to the second medium. In such a case, the interface of the two mediums can be considered as a boundary that is neither fixed nor free.
Consider a scenario where a wave propagates from a string of low linear mass density to a string of high linear mass density. In such a case, the reflected wave is out of phase with respect to the incident wave, however the...

Standing Waves

Standing Waves

Sometimes waves do not seem to move; rather, they just vibrate in place. Unmoving waves can be seen on the surface of a glass of milk kept in a refrigerator, which is one example of standing waves. Vibrations from the refrigerator motor create waves on the milk that oscillate up and down but do not seem to move across the surface. These waves are formed or created by the superposition of two or more identical moving waves in opposite directions. The waves move through each other, with their...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Development and operation of a 100 W wave energy converter for persistent ocean observation.

Scientific reports·2026

Same author

Swell-driven bursts of 26 s and 16 s seismic spectral peaks in the Gulf of Guinea.

Nature communications·2026

Same author

Sizing the largest ocean waves using the SWOT mission.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2025

Same author

Wind, Waves, and Surface Currents: Interactions at Mesoscales and Submesoscales.

Annual review of marine science·2025

Same author

45 years of directional wave recorded data at the Acqua Alta oceanographic tower.

Scientific data·2025

Same author

Graph Kernel Neural Networks.

IEEE transactions on neural networks and learning systems·2024

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 24, 2026

Measurements of Waves in a Wind-wave Tank Under Steady and Time-varying Wind Forcing

Measurements of Waves in a Wind-wave Tank Under Steady and Time-varying Wind Forcing

Published on: February 13, 2018

On the shape and likelihood of oceanic rogue waves.

Alvise Benetazzo¹, Fabrice Ardhuin², Filippo Bergamasco³

¹Institute of Marine Sciences, Italian National Research Council (ISMAR-CNR), Venice, 30122, Italy. alvise.benetazzo@ve.ismar.cnr.it.

Scientific Reports

|August 17, 2017

Summary

Oceanic rogue waves are more common than previously thought, occurring randomly across the sea surface. Analysis of spatio-temporal (ST) records reveals their predictable profiles and likelihood, aiding in storm prediction.

More Related Videos

Developing a Virtual Reality Video Game to Simulate Rip Currents

Developing a Virtual Reality Video Game to Simulate Rip Currents

Published on: July 16, 2020

Experimental Investigation of Secondary Flow Structures Downstream of a Model Type IV Stent Failure in a 180° Curved Artery Test Section

Experimental Investigation of Secondary Flow Structures Downstream of a Model Type IV Stent Failure in a 180° Curved Artery Test Section

Published on: July 19, 2016

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Feb 24, 2026

Measurements of Waves in a Wind-wave Tank Under Steady and Time-varying Wind Forcing

Measurements of Waves in a Wind-wave Tank Under Steady and Time-varying Wind Forcing

Published on: February 13, 2018

Developing a Virtual Reality Video Game to Simulate Rip Currents

Developing a Virtual Reality Video Game to Simulate Rip Currents

Published on: July 16, 2020

Experimental Investigation of Secondary Flow Structures Downstream of a Model Type IV Stent Failure in a 180° Curved Artery Test Section

Experimental Investigation of Secondary Flow Structures Downstream of a Model Type IV Stent Failure in a 180° Curved Artery Test Section

Published on: July 19, 2016

Area of Science:

Oceanography
Fluid Dynamics
Wave Physics

Background:

Rogue waves are unpredictable, extreme wave events occurring on the sea surface.
Spatio-temporal (ST) records of 3D wave fields are suitable for observing these phenomena.
Previous studies have underestimated the probability of rogue wave occurrence.

Purpose of the Study:

To analyze the observation and characteristics of oceanic rogue waves using ST records.
To investigate the probability of rogue wave occurrence in various sea conditions.
To assess the dependence of rogue wave profiles and likelihood on sea state.

Main Methods:

Utilized three stereo wave imaging systems to collect ST records of sea surface elevation.
Isolated individual rogue waves exceeding the 1.25H_s threshold from the records.
Analyzed temporal profiles and probability distributions of rogue waves.

Main Results:

Rogue waves exhibited similar temporal profiles, aligning with extreme wave group theories.
The probability of rogue wave occurrence was found to be higher than previously reported.
Dependence of rogue wave characteristics on sea state conditions was investigated.

Conclusions:

Rogue waves are more likely to occur in both space and time than previously estimated.
Findings enhance understanding of extreme wave group dynamics.
Results can improve predictions of extreme wave probability and intensity in oceanic storms.