<p>I am looking for a book about waves in the context of Earth Science, the two main topics I have in mind are ocean waves and seismic waves.</p>
<p>Explanations in a book like <em>Understanding earth</em><sup>1</sup> is too simple for me (I am not scared by the right amount of math); the chapters in <em>Physics for geologists</em><sup>2</sup> are too succinct; on the other hand a book like <em>Ocean waves in geosciences</em><sup>3</sup> is too deep for me and it lacks waves different from the ocean ones.</p>
<p><em>Almost all about waves</em><sup>4</sup> is not focused on the Earth Science.</p>
<hr />
<p><sup>1</sup>GROTZINGER, John; JORDAN, Thomas H.; PRESS, Frank. <em>Understanding earth</em>. Macmillan, 2010.</p>
<p><sup>2</sup>CHAPMAN, Richard E. <em>Physics for geologists</em>. Taylor &amp; Francis, 2002.</p>
<p><sup>3</sup>ARDHUIN, Fabrice. <em><a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323280453_Ocean_waves_in_geosciences" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Ocean waves in geosciences</a></em>, 2021.</p>
<p><sup>4</sup>PIERCE, John R. <em>Almost all about waves.</em> Cambridge: MIT Press, 1973.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-01-19T23:05:36.797Z
Just a note that waves are also very important in meteorology as well... Kelvin waves, rossby waves, gravity waves, etc.  Water and air are both fluids, so have quite a few similarities (and differences)
JeopardyTempest
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-01-20T07:20:35.247Z
@JeopardyTempest Of course! My recent interest in waves was exactly sparked by a air pressure wave picked up by barometers world wide and due to the eruption of Hunga Tonga–Hunga Haʻapai volcano.
Alessandro Jacopson
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-01-20T11:26:56.950Z
Was even able to identify it on my my brother's weather station in south Florida, quite the event. It seems an interesting question (perhaps only because I've been out of atmospheric dynamics for 15 years now, so may be an easy/obvious answer for others) to wonder what type of wave it was. Gotta be a compression wave/shock wave(?), but how the physics work after 3 trips around the world seems an interesting question. It's not really a sound wave either I wouldn't think, though there was one that went a ways. I know there's been studies into ultrasonic waves for things like tornadoes? ...
JeopardyTempest
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-01-20T11:30:15.867Z
... but the pressure change was over the course of a few minutes, so it seems a little different in size to anything I'd normally consider in meteorology.  There's gravity waves that are outward moving waves caused by inertial things like a deep convective updraft, but they're transverse.  Waves are something I don't know enough about either I'd say, as I could handle the rigorous physics once upon a time, but not sure I ever got a broader overview of how they work.  I think there's a wide variety of wave scales/wavenumbers that we've maybe even only scratched the surface of? Great question.
JeopardyTempest
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-01-20T11:38:34.780Z
Because there are books with very elementary approach on waves, and books with hardcore physics, but would think people would be interested in a book on the overall subject just as they would books about statistical applications or paradoxes across  sciences, topics I've seen written up about in nice ways.  https://www.amazon.com/Physics-Oscillations-Waves-Matlab-Undergraduate-ebook/dp/B07GRPG16M/ref=sr_1_6?crid=3M3NOPHHMKOER&keywords=physics+of+waves seems maybe an option to try if you find nothing else, but sounds like it could be a bit deep and uninspiring too :-/
JeopardyTempest
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-01-20T18:58:16.457Z
I'm not sure the book you're describing (domain-specific, comprehensive, _and_ accessible; usually you can pick 2 of these) exists, but FWIW I really like Fleisch & Kinnaman (2015), A Student's Guide to Waves, Cambridge. It's applied physics, not earth science, but covers EM, pressure, and mechanical waves quite well.
Matt Hall
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-01-20T21:27:58.673Z
@JeopardyTempest Thank you, it seems interesting https://folk.universitetetioslo.no/arntvi/SBFbok2.html even if uninspiring ;-)
Alessandro Jacopson
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-01-20T21:43:06.830Z
@kwinkunks Thank you, I will check it out. A book that in my opinion is domain-specific, accessible (but maybe not so comprehensive?) is Gill (2015), Chemical Fundamentals of Geology and Environmental Geoscience, Wiley-Blackwell. It has a very good explanation of "Electron waves in atoms" (and a wonderful chapter start like "Why does a geologist need to understand atoms?").
Alessandro Jacopson
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-01-21T07:45:18.813Z
If you are interested in oceanic/coastal waves, I would highly recommend 'Waves in Oceanic and Coastal Waters' by Leo H. Holthuijsen. It starts off from a simple waves background and gradually goes deeper into the theory/maths.
Ingvar Lukas
<oceanography><seismology><waves><reference-request>
Book recommendation on waves
Alessandro Jacopson
# Book recommendation on waves

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-01-19)

I am looking for a book about waves in the context of Earth Science, the two main topics I have in mind are ocean waves and seismic waves.

Explanations in a book like *Understanding earth*1 is too simple for me (I am not scared by the right amount of math); the chapters in *Physics for geologists*2 are too succinct; on the other hand a book like *Ocean waves in geosciences*3 is too deep for me and it lacks waves different from the ocean ones.

*Almost all about waves*4 is not focused on the Earth Science.

---

1GROTZINGER, John; JORDAN, Thomas H.; PRESS, Frank. *Understanding earth*. Macmillan, 2010.

2CHAPMAN, Richard E. *Physics for geologists*. Taylor & Francis, 2002.

3ARDHUIN, Fabrice. *[Ocean waves in geosciences](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323280453_Ocean_waves_in_geosciences)*, 2021.

4PIERCE, John R. *Almost all about waves.* Cambridge: MIT Press, 1973.

**Tags:** oceanography, seismology, waves, reference-request

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Just a note that waves are also very important in meteorology as well... Kelvin waves, rossby waves, gravity waves, etc.  Water and air are both fluids, so have quite a few similarities (and differences)  
> **username_0**: @username_1 Of course! My recent interest in waves was exactly sparked by a air pressure wave picked up by barometers world wide and due to the eruption of Hunga Tonga–Hunga Haʻapai volcano.  
> **username_1**: Was even able to identify it on my my brother's weather station in south Florida, quite the event. It seems an interesting question (perhaps only because I've been out of atmospheric dynamics for 15 years now, so may be an easy/obvious answer for others) to wonder what type of wave it was. Gotta be a compression wave/shock wave(?), but how the physics work after 3 trips around the world seems an interesting question. It's not really a sound wave either I wouldn't think, though there was one that went a ways. I know there's been studies into ultrasonic waves for things like tornadoes? ...  
> **username_1**: ... but the pressure change was over the course of a few minutes, so it seems a little different in size to anything I'd normally consider in meteorology.  There's gravity waves that are outward moving waves caused by inertial things like a deep convective updraft, but they're transverse.  Waves are something I don't know enough about either I'd say, as I could handle the rigorous physics once upon a time, but not sure I ever got a broader overview of how they work.  I think there's a wide variety of wave scales/wavenumbers that we've maybe even only scratched the surface of? Great question.  
> **username_1**: Because there are books with very elementary approach on waves, and books with hardcore physics, but would think people would be interested in a book on the overall subject just as they would books about statistical applications or paradoxes across  sciences, topics I've seen written up about in nice ways.  https://www.amazon.com/Physics-Oscillations-Waves-Matlab-Undergraduate-ebook/dp/B07GRPG16M/ref=sr_1_6?crid=3M3NOPHHMKOER&keywords=physics+of+waves seems maybe an option to try if you find nothing else, but sounds like it could be a bit deep and uninspiring too :-/  
> **username_2**: I'm not sure the book you're describing (domain-specific, comprehensive, _and_ accessible; usually you can pick 2 of these) exists, but FWIW I really like Fleisch & Kinnaman (2015), A Student's Guide to Waves, Cambridge. It's applied physics, not earth science, but covers EM, pressure, and mechanical waves quite well.  
> **username_0**: @username_1 Thank you, it seems interesting https://folk.universitetetioslo.no/arntvi/SBFbok2.html even if uninspiring ;-)  
> **username_0**: @kwinkunks Thank you, I will check it out. A book that in my opinion is domain-specific, accessible (but maybe not so comprehensive?) is Gill (2015), Chemical Fundamentals of Geology and Environmental Geoscience, Wiley-Blackwell. It has a very good explanation of "Electron waves in atoms" (and a wonderful chapter start like "Why does a geologist need to understand atoms?").  
> **username_3**: If you are interested in oceanic/coastal waves, I would highly recommend 'Waves in Oceanic and Coastal Waters' by Leo H. Holthuijsen. It starts off from a simple waves background and gradually goes deeper into the theory/maths.  

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## 0 answers

