Wave Gauge

an instrument that records the contour of wind waves and swells for the subsequent determination of their parameters (height and period) in oceans, seas, and reservoirs. Both coastal and shipboard types of wave gauges exist. They consist of a detector, which is located at a fixed depth in a layer of water or on the bottom of a body of water, and a recorder, which is located on the shore or in a ship. The basic principles of operation of wave gauges are the recording of changes in the hydrostatic pressure produced by passing waves, the oscillations of a buoy floating freely on the surface of a body of water, the transit time of ultrasonic signals from a radiator to a receiver after being reflected from the disturbed surface of the body of water, and the changes in the DC resistance of an electrical-contact or wire transducer as waves pass through them. The individual operating principles are combined in some designs. The most common types of wave gauges in the USSR are the GM-16, the 1M-32, and wire models.