Surf science : an introduction to waves for surfing

Have you ever wondered where surf­ing waves come from, what makes every wave dif­fer­ent, why some peel per­fectly and oth­ers just close out; why, some days, the waves come in sets and other days they don’t, and how the tides, the wind and the shape of the sea floor affect the waves for surf­ing? If you have, this book is for you. Now in its third edi­tion, Surf Sci­ence is the first book to talk in depth about the sci­ence of waves from a surfer’s point of view. It fills the gap between surf­ing books and waves text­books, and will help you learn how to pre­dict surf. Surf Sci­ence is also a use­ful intro­duc­tion to ocean­o­graphy and the sci­ence of waves. You don’t need a sci­entific back­ground to read it – just curi­os­ity and a fas­cin­a­tion for waves. Title Page 2 About the Book 3 About the Author 4 Dedication 5 Contents 6 Preface 8 1 Introduction 10 2 Large-scale Air Movements 18 3 Formation of a Depression 38 4 Growth of Waves on the Ocean 49 5 Propagation of Free-travelling Swell 71 6 Waves in Shallow Water 94 7 Wave-breaking 113 8 The Temperature of the Water 123 9 Local Winds on the Coast 133 10 The Tides 146 11 Rips 170 12 Forecasting 1: Basics 183 13 Forecasting 2: Inside the Black Box 200 14 Forecasting 3: Surfing in the Storm 218 Further Reading 227 Glossary 230 Acknowledgements 244 Credits 245 Copyright 246 Sports & Recreation,Surfing,Surf Science: An Introduction to Waves for Surfing Large-scale air movements Formation of a depression Growth of waves on the ocean Propagation of free-travelling swell Waves in shallow water Wave-breaking The temperature of the water Local winds on the coast The tides Rips Forecasting 1: the basics Forecasting 2: inside the black box Forecasting 3: surfing in the storm.