Summary:
- Most ocean waves are caused by winds.
- Once the wave starts, it doesn't need more wind to keep it going.
- The energy of a wave may travel for thousands of miles.
- A wave that travels across miles of ocean is traveling energy, not water.
- The size of an ocean wave depends on how fast, over how great a distance, and how long the wind blows.
- Some of the biggest waves occur with hurricanes.
- Learning how they are generated can tell scientists a great deal about how the ocean creates waves and especially large waves.