In fluid dynamics, the wave height of a surface wave is the difference between the elevations of a crest and a neighboring trough.[1] Wave height is a term used by mariners, as well as in coastal, ocean and naval engineering.
At sea, the term significant wave height is used as a means to introduce a well-defined and standardized statistic to denote the characteristic height of the random waves in a sea state, including wind sea and swell. It is defined in such a way that it more or less corresponds to what a mariner observes when estimating visually the average wave height.
- ^ Kinsman (1984, p. 38)