Coastal Science and Arctic Amazement

Welcome to Fall Learning We've finally made it to fall. The end of this season brought mixed fortunes to the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts of the Americas. Namely, the unprecedented landfall of three hurricanes, Harvey, Irma, and Maria, was responsible for tragic loss of life and property to many large coastal communities. These events underscore our continuing need to better understand the powerful, yet fragile, oceans. I've just returned from the Oceans 2017 science conference in Alaska to learn about many of the new and improved ways we are gaining the information to help protect our coastal communities. For some communities, such as St. Johns county in Florida, there is still a battle over the near-term protection and long-term sustainability of our coastal activities. Each community has hard long-term decisions to make. In lighter news, the annual Surf Dog competition has just happened in Southern California reminding us that the coast still brings joy! Definitely take some time to check out the new designs of the WaveClock. You're sure to love the new speedometer style as well as great art from Wetfeet Photography and Ventana Surfboards and Supplies still on ETSY. Stay tuned and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for the latest info. We'll let you know here first! Happy and Safe Fall to Everyone! The WaveClock Team

Your New WaveClock is Here!

Oceans Alaska It is well understood that the Arctic Ocean will soon be ice free for the first time in recorded history. The changes are happening at an alarming pace. Alaska is the central hub for the science and engineering that is helping us understand these changes. Check out this informative piece.

Shore Protection Do or Don't?? Communities have weighed the need for shore protection against the long-term sustainability of such measures. In addition, these measures can also cause enhanced erosion damage to adjacent coastal areas. Read how a Florida community is dealing with the issues Here.

The Dogs Have It To remind us that the coast brings joy, the annual Huntington Beach dog surf contest just went off. Even dogs understand the joy of sliding down the face of a wave and you can see the smiles on their faces. Check out some of the fun photos in this article!

Protected WaveClocks, Ocean Winds for Energy, and Seafloor Observations Show the Way!

Ocean Winds for Energy! We were inspired by the first U.S. offshore wind energy farm off of Rhode Island (see below) and released the completely new designs of the WaveClock! Check them out on ETSY and enter BIGWAVES now for your 20% summer discount! In other big news, NOAA is compiling measurements from the Gulf of Mexico and seeing the largest dead zone ever in the Gulf.  The condition arises due to lack of oxygen in the water. In more positive news, the University of Washington is maintaining their live seafloor observatory that measures seafloor volcanic activity. Some great ocean science! Don't forget to check out the latest WaveClocks. You're sure to love the great art from Wetfeet Photography and Ventana Surfboards and Supplies. Check them out on ETSY. Stay tuned and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for the latest info. We'll let you know here first! Happy and Safe Summer to Everyone! The WaveClock Team Find Your WaveClock Here! Share Tweet Forward Pin

Offshore Wind Energy Grows The Offshore Wind Summit recently held in Houston, TX brough together experienced engineers from oil and gas and offshore wind developers to help bring decades of ocean experience to a new budding industry in renewable energy. Learn More! Truly a Dead Zone The hypoxic, or low oxygen, condition in the Gulf of Mexico can cause massive fish kills.  The dead zone for this summer is the largest ever measured in 32 years!  More at NOAA.   Internet of Things on the Seafloor Researchers at the University of Washington are heading out to maintain a deep sea cabled observitory. One of the key missions is to observe life around an undersea volcanoe, the Axial Seamount. Check out more!

How to Survive the Summer! You're finally getting some time off, relaxing long weekends to enjoy the sun and water, and all is well! It might feel as if everyone within a thousand miles has also come to join you. There's nothing like summer beach time and surfing to experience the best in crowds. Corky Carroll, one of the wisest surfers out there, has some words of advice on how to look past the crowds and relax and enjoy no matter what. Also, there's a big effort underway in New Zealand to save a surf spot from development. And speaking of surf, this winter was full of spectacular big wave surfing. We couldn't resist sharing a clip of the ten most harrowing wipeouts that make you wonder how anyone comes up again! As you know, the WaveClock is your gateway to the ocean. The WaveClock queries real-time oceanographic databases to find the wave and tide at your spot. You can always check out the app by downloading from our website, but you need your hardware version to keep you updated at a glance.  To get you setup, we are offering FREE SHIPPING this week using the code catchawaveat our Etsy store. Drop into that as soon as possible! Happy and safe July to everyone! The WaveClock Team Free Shipping HERE with the code catchawave!!

While your WaveClock can help you spot the swells not predicted by the forecasters, crowds can still happen. Corky Carroll offers some wisdom from his decades of surfing. Instead of getting frustrated, aggravated, and having a bad session, you can learn how to mentally prepare. Check it out here. The El Nino this winter brought some unprecedented surf for big wave spots around the world. But with those incredible waves come some mighty payments. In this amazingcompilation, Kiwi filmmaker and editor Guy Mac puts together quite possibly the most intense one minute of surfing you’ve ever seen. Dredging Waves Away? Surfers near Wellington Harbor in New Zealand are facing changes at their local spot by a dredging project to allow larger vessels into the Harbor. Overall, it looks like the dredging will decrease the wave energy entering the area thereby decreasing the number of surfable days.  Read about it HERE!

A day to celebrate our oceans! Summer arrives today for the northern hemisphere with the solstice, the longest day of the year. Even though it's on a Monday, a day when many of us are stuck starting our work week, the early light and long evenings provide plenty of time for us to get our and play. So your orders for the day are ... GET OUT AND PLAY. On top of the wonder of summer it is also International Surfing Day. Started in conjunction with Surfrider, it is a day to celebrate the surfing life and sustainability in the use of ocean resources. Check out what's going on here are the Surfrider Website. Above all, try to take some time today to reflect on how you relate to the ocean and what you can do to help with the study, preservation, and healthy enjoyment of what it has to offer everyone. We're gearing up for the Street Fair coming on Saturday. Another great local celebration of Summer. Please stay tuned for specials and deals on your WaveClock either on ETSY or in person at the Pleasure Point Street Fair!

Summer 2016 Comes Alive!

The Summer Comes Alive! June 25th marks the 4th Annual Pleasure Point Street Fairin Santa Cruz. The event has been growing year after year with great local art, music, skate contests, food, and local brews.  Come join us at the WaveClock booth!  Mention you're a member of our newsletter for special discounts on our newest WaveClocks. See the new vertical wooden WaveClocks and some special products worked up with local artists. Below is an amazing story of a crazy surf contest near Sydney. Check out some of the terrifying wipeouts. Also, the Ocean Observatories Initiative is in full swing with over 80% of the data being collected at seven locations being streamed real-time. Finally, we have worked up some perspectives on last winter, big storms, and sea level rise. What does it all mean for the coast? An exciting development from the WaveClock team are the Vertical WaveClocks.  Perfectly suited for a wall hanging or even sitting on your desk. You'll see the real-time updates coming in from the ocean and know exactly what's happening out there when it matters ... NOW!  Check out the latest on ETSY. Please send your feedback at info@thewaveclock.com. Share the latest with your friends! Share Tweet Forward

CAPE FEAR! The Cape Fear surf contest on Monday brought some of the wild men of surfing to the Sydney coast in 20 ft waves. A big storm prompted a surf contest at Cape Solander - a secret break off Kamay Botany Bay National Park - one of the heaviest waves in the world. After a number of heavy wipeouts, and three surfers reportedly being taken to hospital, the competition was called off. Check out the insane photos here! Real-Time Ocean Observations The National Science Foundation announced that data are coming in real-time from the Ocean Observatories Initiative, a collection of ocean sensors in seven separate arrays. Oceanographers have the chance to test whether the technologically complex and scientifically unprecedented project produces the anticipated wealth of data. Read more at Scientific American. What's Happening at the Beach? Over 120 million people live on the coast in the United States alone,. Worldwide that number tops out at near 3 billion people! That’s a lot of people that are directly affected by anything going on in our oceans. It’s certainly natural that we should be thinking about things like big El Niños, extended hurricane seasons, and sea-level rise. Check out our coastal summary on the National Geographic Ocean View Blog.

Check out this video. We've been having fun getting some local footage of calm dawns with our new drone.  Stay tuned for exciting science that will be accompanying soon. Real-Time Ocean Updates Latest News Find Your WaveClock

Thanks to National Geographic for publishing this piece!

What’s Happening on the Beach?

By Craig Jones Earlier this year, I was confronted head-on with some of the coastal engineering math I plowed through in college. The swell was topping out over 20 feet at the offshore Monterey Bay…

VOICES.NATIONALGEOGRAPHIC.COM|BY GUEST BLOGGER

The Coolest on Science and Surf in the Spring We're officially into spring and it's slowly warming up everywhere in the Northern Hemisphere. The USGS in Santa Cruz has also been released some fantastic maps of the coast that help visualize where some of our best surf, sand, and fish come from. Along those lines, the folks at Grist have also put together an excellent sea level rise summary, and if that's not enough, head down to the article on how extreme waves are formed! Check out the articles below. In the spring sunshine, we've been busy using the sunny days to get new wooden WaveClock built, sanded, stained, and working! Your feedback during our survey helped out immensely in selecting the coolest stains. Check out our always updating stock at ETSY. We have about a dozen new wooden clocks coming this week. Also, share our website with your friends so they can see what the WaveClock is all about! Share Tweet Forward

Underwater Relief The Pacific Marine Sciences division of the USGS in Santa Cruz has produced some fantastic underwater maps of the Pacific Coast over the past decade. Much of the recent work is yielding unprecedented insight. Grist has put together an informative and fun description of sea level rise through a conversation with the Climate Scientists Hotline. It helps to communicate some of the numbers thrown around. Extreme Waves The term "rogue waves" is often used to describe a situation where large waves result due to wave addition. While these are really just extreme storm waves, this article has a great discussion.