Global trends in wind speed and wave height over the past 25 years

Studies of climate change typically consider measurements of temperature change over extended period of time. Climate, however, is much more than temperature. Over the oceans, changes in wind speed and the surface gravity waves, generated by such winds, play an important role. In addition to being themselves an indicator of climate change, winds and waves play important roles in the design and operation of offshore shipping and structures, as well as controlling the flux of energy from the atmosphere to the ocean and potentially upper ocean mixing. Thus, they significantly influence the mechanisms of air-sea interaction. This presentation investigates changes in global wind speed and wave height over the past 25 years, using a consistently calibrated and validated altimeter data base for this period.