Title: Wave parts and measurements
Demo topic: How ocean waves are created

Source URLs:
- NOAA National Weather Service Marine Weather Services, "Coastal Waters Forecasts With Wave Detail": https://www.weather.gov/marine/wavedetail

Main idea:
To explain how waves are created, it helps to know the basic parts and measurements scientists and forecasters use.

Basic vocabulary:
- Crest: the highest part of a wave.
- Trough: the lowest part of a wave.
- Wave height: the vertical distance from trough to crest.
- Wavelength: the horizontal distance from one crest to the next crest.
- Wave period: the time between one wave crest and the next passing the same point.
- Wave direction: the direction waves are coming from.

Significant wave height:
Marine forecasts often use significant wave height. This is the average height of the highest one-third of waves in a location or forecast area. It helps describe the more noticeable waves a person is likely to experience, not every single small ripple.

Why these measurements matter:
Two waves can have the same height but feel different if their periods are different. A longer-period swell can carry energy differently and can behave differently near shore than short, choppy wind waves.

Key facts:
- Wave height is measured from trough to crest.
- Wave period is the time between waves passing a fixed point.
- Significant wave height summarizes the larger waves in a wave field.
- Measurements like height, period, and direction help connect wave science to weather and marine forecasts.

Research-report use:
This note should support a short "how to describe a wave" section in the report.
