For surfers everywhere, finding the “sweet spot” on a wave is a matter of trial and error, experience, and intuition. But for Nick Pizzo, a postdoctoral researcher at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego, it’s also a matter that can be approached scientifically.
In a newly released study in the Journal of Fluid Mechanics, Pizzo claims that an ocean wave can be broken down mathematically to determine its most powerful section, ensuring optimum speed and exhilaration.
“Based on the speed and geometry of the wave, you can determine the conditions to surf a wave and also where on the wave the maximum acceleration, or ‘sweet spot,’ will be located,” said Pizzo, the author of the new study and a frequent surfer.
In this case, Pizzo’s study reinforced what most surfers know to be true already – that the part of the wave that propels a surfer with the most speed is just under the lip or curl, the pocket.
Funded by the National Science Foundation and Office of Naval Research, Pizzo’s study is about more than helping surfers get the most out of waves.
Geometry may have unlocked the key to finding a wave’s sweet spot. Photo: Scripps Institution of Oceanography
“The study was motivated by important scientific questions that lead to a better description of the upper ocean to be used in weather and climate models,” said Pizzo. “By studying the acceleration of a theoretical surfer on a wave, we can provide a better description of the currents generated by breaking waves, leading to an improved understanding of the momentum and energy budget between the atmosphere and ocean.”
While in the scheme of things, a surfer’s interaction with the ocean close to shore represents the final moments of energy transferred for thousands of miles across the water’s surface, Pizzo argues that understanding waves can aid in predicting weather including storms and hurricanes.
An article on Scripps Institute’s blog reinforces the point. “As a wave breaks at the ocean surface, currents are generated and water droplets in the form of sea spray are ejected from the ocean into the atmosphere,” reads the article. “These small-scale processes are critical pieces of information to improve weather and climate models to better forecast major storm events and the future climate.”
Studying waves, while of personal interest to Pizzo is also, in his view, a scientific imperative.
“We need to understand the little things to get the big picture,” he said.
