Environmental Hydraulics Institute "IH Cantabria", Universidad de Cantabria, 39011, Santander, Cantabria, Spain.
Institute of Marine Sciences, University of California, 115 McAllister Way, Santa Cruz, CA, 95060, USA.
Nat Commun. 2019 Jan 14;10(1):205. doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-08066-0.
Wind-generated ocean waves drive important coastal processes that determine flooding and erosion. Ocean warming has been one factor affecting waves globally. Most studies have focused on studying parameters such as wave heights, but a systematic, global and long-term signal of climate change in global wave behavior remains undetermined. Here we show that the global wave power, which is the transport of the energy transferred from the wind into sea-surface motion, has increased globally (0.4% per year) and by ocean basins since 1948. We also find long-term correlations and statistical dependency with sea surface temperatures, globally and by ocean sub-basins, particularly between the tropical Atlantic temperatures and the wave power in high south latitudes, the most energetic region globally. Results indicate the upper-ocean warming, a consequence of anthropogenic global warming, is changing the global wave climate, making waves stronger. This identifies wave power as a potentially valuable climate change indicator.
风产生的海洋波浪驱动着决定洪水和侵蚀的重要沿海过程。海洋变暖是影响全球波浪的因素之一。大多数研究都集中在研究波浪高度等参数上，但全球波浪行为中气候变化的系统、全球和长期信号仍未确定。在这里，我们表明，自 1948 年以来，全球波能（即风转移到海面运动的能量传输）一直在增加（每年 0.4%），并且在海洋盆地中也是如此。我们还发现了与全球和海洋次盆地的海面温度之间的长期相关性和统计依赖性，特别是在热带大西洋温度和高南纬度（全球能量最丰富的区域）的波能之间。结果表明，人为全球变暖导致的上层海洋变暖正在改变全球波浪气候，使波浪更强。这表明波能是气候变化的一个潜在有价值的指标。
