Climate change could impact wave height, says study
Average wave size will increase in many parts of the southern hemisphere over the twenty-first century, but decrease in the north, according to an international study on the impact of climate change on oceanic activity. The study, published in Nature Climate Change last month (13 January), predicts a wave height increase of between 20 and 30 centimeters in an area covering at least seven per cent of the surface of the world's oceans. This is due to the poleward intensification of the westerly winds in the southern hemisphere, resulting from climate change.
Antarctica, Australia, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea are the four places that scientists think will chiefly be affected.
But the scientists also predict a drop in wave height across a quarter of the area of the world's oceans, particularly in the northern hemisphere, with potentially far-reaching impacts.
For further information see Wave Change.
Wave image via Wikipedia.