751 articles
Water erosion
Water erosion: detachment and removal of soil by raindrop impact and runoff, in sheet, rill, gully, and streambank forms; predicted with USLE/RUSLE models developed by USDA research since 1929.
Water Erosion Prediction Project model
The Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) model is a process-based, continuous-simulation computer model predicting water erosion on hillslopes and sediment yield from small watersheds, developed for USDA conservation agencies and delivered in 1995.
Water footprint
A water footprint is the volume of freshwater consumed and polluted to produce a product, measured over the full supply chain. The concept was developed by Arjen Y. Hoekstra in 2002.
Water level
Water level, also called stage or gauge height, is the elevation of a water surface in a stream, lake, reservoir, or well relative to a specified datum. It is the fundamental hydrological measurement, converted to discharge via a rating curve and recorded continuously at gauging stations.
Water Movements
Water Movements covers ocean currents, tides, and waves: wind-driven surface currents and gyres, thermohaline deep circulation, tidal currents, rip currents, and wave formation, with speeds, timescales, and drivers distinguishing each type.
Water resources
Water resources are the stocks of water available for use, including groundwater and non-marine surface water; agriculture accounts for roughly 70% of global freshwater withdrawals.
Water sampling
Water sampling is the collection of water from streams, lakes, groundwater wells, and the ocean for physical, chemical, or biological analysis, using grab, composite, and discharge-weighted methods.
Water scarcity
Water scarcity, also known as water shortage, is the condition in which demand for freshwater exceeds available supply in an area, affecting consumption, irrigation, and industry.
Water table
The water table, or groundwater level, is the surface in an unconfined aquifer where groundwater pressure equals atmospheric pressure, marking the top of the saturated zone.
Water vapor
Water vapor, also called gaseous water, is water in its gas phase. It is Earth's most abundant greenhouse gas, amplifying climate change through a positive feedback loop.
WaterGAP
WaterGAP (Water – Global Assessment and Prognosis) is a global hydrological model developed at the University of Kassel since 1996 to assess water resources and stress.
Wave diffraction
Wave diffraction is the lateral transfer of wave energy along a wave crest into the sheltered region behind an obstacle such as a breakwater or island.
Wave Glider
The Wave Glider is an autonomous, uncrewed surface vehicle made by Liquid Robotics, a Boeing subsidiary, that converts ocean wave energy into thrust and runs up to 12 months at sea.
Wave radar
Wave radar is a radar-based remote sensing method that measures the directional ocean wave spectrum without placing an instrument in the water, using X-band nautical radar or high-frequency ground-wave radar.
Wave runup
Wave runup is the maximum vertical elevation reached by wave uprush above still-water level on a beach or coastal structure, made up of wave setup and swash.
Wave setup
Wave setup is the rise in mean sea level at the coast caused by breaking waves, adding to tide and storm surge inside the surf zone.
Wave spectrum
A wave spectrum is the statistical distribution of ocean wave energy across wave frequencies and directions, distinguishing wind waves from swell and underpinning operational wave forecasting models.
WEAP
WEAP (Water Evaluation and Adaptation Planning, originally Water Evaluation and Planning) is a software tool for integrated water resources planning developed by the Stockholm Environment Institute, used in nearly 200 countries.
Weather buoy
A weather buoy is a moored or drifting floating platform that automatically measures and transmits ocean weather data such as wind, air and sea temperature, pressure, and waves.
Well
A well, also called a water well, is an excavation drilled or dug into the ground to reach groundwater, which flows or is pumped to the surface.
Western boundary current
A western boundary current is a strong, narrow, fast-flowing current on the western edge of an ocean basin, like the Gulf Stream and Kuroshio, key examples.
Whirlpool
A whirlpool is a body of rotating water produced when opposing currents meet, when a current passes through a confined passage, or when tides interact with seafloor features.
William Dampier
William Dampier (1651–1715) was an English buccaneer, navigator, and naturalist who circumnavigated the world three times and led the 1699 Roebuck voyage to chart Australia's northwest coast.
Wind sea
Wind sea, also written wind waves, is the portion of the ocean wave spectrum generated and directly driven by local wind, unlike swell, which travels from distant storms.
Wind wave
A wind wave, or ocean surface wave, is a wave on water generated by local wind blowing across the surface, as distinct from swell, tides, and seiches.
Wind-driven circulation
Wind-driven circulation is the water motion generated when wind stress acts on a lake or sea surface, organizing currents, gyres, and waves, and usually the main flow-generating mechanism in lakes.
Women in oceanography
Women in oceanography is the study of women's participation and barriers in ocean science, where research ships stayed closed to women at major institutions into the 1960s.
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution is a non-profit ocean research organization in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, founded in 1930, operating research ships and the deep-sea submersible Alvin.
World Ocean Circulation Experiment
The World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE), the first project of the World Climate Research Programme, was an international program on ocean circulation and climate, with observations from 1990 to 1998.
WRF-Hydro
WRF-Hydro is an open-source hydrological modeling system developed at NCAR that simulates land surface fluxes, overland and subsurface flow, and channel and reservoir routing, either standalone or coupled to models like WRF.