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.