Wave Creation

As the wind moves across the surface of the water, some of the wind’s energy gets transferred into the water. The more energy the wind transfers to the water, the bigger the waves will be.

• The faster the wind blows (wind speed), the more energy the wind has, and the bigger the waves it can generate.

• The longer the length of time the wind blows (wind duration), the greater the amount of time it can transfer energy to the water, and the bigger the waves it can generate.

• The greater the distance over the water that the wind travels (fetch), the more opportunity there is for air–water interaction, and the bigger the waves that can be created.

Thus, high winds blowing across a long length of water for a long time can transfer a lot of energy, which will move as very large waves. Once waves are generated, they move across the surface of the water until they encounter resistance.