Stereo vision studies ocean waves

The approach, which uses two video cameras to feed data into an advanced computer system, can observe large areas of ocean waves in real time and help explain what they are doing and why, scientists said.

The system may be of particular value as rising sea levels pose additional challenges to vulnerable shorelines around the world, threatened by coastal erosion. It is claimed the technology should be comparatively simple and inexpensive to implement.

‘An ocean wave crashing on shore is actually the end of a long story that usually begins thousands of miles away, formed by wind and storms,’ said David Hill, an associate professor of coastal and ocean engineering at Oregon State University. ‘We’re trying to achieve with cameras and a computer what human eyes and the brain do automatically – see the way that near-shore waves grow, change direction and collapse as they move over a seafloor that changes depth constantly.’