Wave variability along the world’s continental shelves and coasts: Monitoring opportunities from satellite Earth observation

Insight on wave regimes along the world’s coastlines is important for virtually all coastal and nearshore marine activities, installations, planning protection. Waves are pervasive dominant source of energy driving extreme sea levels, transport pollutants sediments, erosion, a major contributor to risks flooding. We quantify global spatio-temporal conditions coasts evaluate needs Earth Observation strategies, with aim, notably, that derived scales change can contribute optimisation these strategies. A timescale 30 days found in variability is, average, spatially correlated just over synoptic 5 degrees’ regional scale (≈ 550 km at equator). This regional-scale dimension suggests timing design traditional field surveys observations relevant vast array which may be expensive terms human resources, complemented by information gained from satellite throws light wave-energy coastlines.