Wave measurements, needs and developments the next decade

A recent workshop on in-situ wave measurement technology noted that: (1) geographical coverage of insitu data is still very limited especially as far as any measure of wave directionality is concerned, and most measurements are taken near coasts in the Northern Hemisphere; (2) present in-situ reports are not standardized resulting in impaired utility; (3) significant differences exist in measured waves from different platforms, sensors, processing and moorings. Three main topics were discussed: (1) how to add wave observing capabilities to drifting buoys; (2) how to assess and improve the quality of observations from the present networks of moored buoys; 3) the addition of wave observation capabilities to future moored buoy networks.