72 



THE NAVY OCEAN SCIENCE PROGRAM 



1 — ' — r 



PREDICTED WAVE HEIGHTS (FEET) 

 OBSERVED WAVE HEIGHTS (FEET) 



00 0( 



TIME (E) 



DAY 1961 

 SIGNIFICANT WAVE HEIGHTS VS TIME AT ARGUS ISLAND 



From direct measurements of wave conditions at Argus Island oflF 

 the island of Bermuda, it is possible to verify present wave fore- 

 casting techniques. Both observed and predicted heights of waves 

 are compared for a period of nine days. 



developed capability to record wave conditions along a flight line, 

 also has furnished the means for measuring the growth of waves 

 with distance along a fetch over which the wind blows in a uni- 

 form direction. Our knowledge of the attenuation and dispersion 

 of waves propagated from storm centers in turn has been ad- 

 vanced as a result of a study of the propagation of swell across 

 the Pacific Ocean. 



The state of development has now been reached in which a 

 computerized program for wave-spectra forecasts for the North 

 Atlantic Ocean is being evaluated. A similar program for the 

 North Pacific Ocean is under development. Forecasts from such 

 programs, when they become fully operational, should in time 

 add significantly to the present predictions of sea and swell 

 for the Northern Hemisphere being prepared by computer 

 techniques. 



