Wave energy is actually a concentrated form of solar power generated by the action of the wind blowing across the surface of the oceans water which can then be used as a renewable source of energy. As the suns rays strike the Earth’s atmosphere, they warm it up.

Waves are disturbances that travel through a fluid medium. Several common wave characteristics include frequency, period, wavelength, and amplitude. There are two main type of waves, transverse waves and longitudinal waves.

To summarise, waves carry energy. The amount of energy they carry is related to their frequency and their amplitude. The higher the frequency, the more energy, and the higher the amplitude, the more energy. You can make these patterns yourself with the activity Investigating waves and energy.

Some main areas for wave farms are Portugal, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States.

• Portugal has the very first wave farm, the Aguçadoura Wave Farm.
• United Kingdom.
• Australia have wave farms that are currently under development off the West coast and near Portland, Victoria.

Although both are sea waves, a tsunami and a tidal wave are two different and unrelated phenomena. A tsunami is an ocean wave triggered by large earthquakes that occur near or under the ocean, volcanic eruptions, submarine landslides, or by onshore landslides in which large volumes of debris fall into the water.

Behaviour and uses of electromagnetic waves

1. Radio waves. Radio waves are used for communication such as television and radio.
2. Microwaves. Microwaves are used for cooking food and for satellite communications.
3. Infrared.
4. Visible light.
5. Ultraviolet radiation.

One is amplitude, which is the distance from the rest position of a wave to the top or bottom. Large amplitude waves contain more energy. The other is frequency, which is the number of waves that pass by each second. If more waves pass by, more energy is transferred each second.

The size of a wave depends on three factors: the distance over which the wind blows across open water (the fetch), the strength of the wind, and the duration that the wind blows. The larger these factors, the larger are the waves.

Increase in wave heights (and wave energy) is primarily driven by increases in surface wind energy15. Wave heights have been increasing associated to upward trends in global sea surface mean and extreme wind speeds across ocean basins from 1988 to 20119,16,17.

Wave energy is also a type of renewable energy and is the largest estimated global resource form of ocean energy.

Large-scale wave energy is comparatively more reliable, consistent and potentially cheaper than other forms of energy generation, including wind power.