With a steady wind blowing at 15Kn blowing over the sea is it possible to determine the speed the waves are travelling?
Thanks
Mike
Yes, by using a combination of gps (for ship velocity) and laser velocimeter (for wave relative velocity), and vector addition. However, the wave speeds will not all be the same, and will not equal the wind speed.
You can always determine wave speed by knowing ship speed and direction, wave direction, and time it takes for wave to travel ship length (relative speed).
What you have is wave speed relative to ship speed, so you do a vector addition. Wind speed does not matter, as long as you have ship speed known, either relative to water, or relative to actual location. Seldom does water speed matter at sea for these calcs.
For a most interesting discussion of waves, see..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean_surface_wave
Yes, it is possible to determine the speed at which the waves are traveling with the given information. The speed of waves depends on the wind speed and the characteristics of the water.
To determine the speed of the waves, you need to understand the relationship between wind speed and wave speed. When wind blows over the water surface, it transfers some energy to the water, causing waves to form and travel. The wind speed determines the energy transferred to the water, which influences the speed of the resulting waves.
In general, the speed of fully developed waves (known as "fully formed" or "free waves") can be approximated by the formula:
Wave speed = Wind speed / Wave factor
The wave factor is a constant that depends on the ratio of the depth of the water to the wavelength of the waves. For deep water waves (where the depth of the water is much larger than the wavelength), the wave factor is approximately 1. The formula becomes:
Wave speed ≈ Wind speed
So, in your case, with a steady wind of 15 knots over the sea, you can approximate the speed of the waves to be roughly 15 knots as well.
It's important to note that this approximation assumes fully developed waves and does not take into account other factors that can affect wave speed, such as the water temperature, salinity, and any ocean currents. To obtain a more precise measurement, you may need additional data and calculations.