Basically, the waves in the ocean have energy, and you use that to lower the temperature differential.

NEWYORKER: In the Air

In the Madagascan data, for example, the choppiness of the waves in the open stretches of the Indian Ocean can be contrasted with the smooth reflection of the radar signal from the enclosed, calm waters of the Baie de Diego.

BBC: German TanDEM-X satellite returns first images

Song, Richards and colleagues studied waves generated by small earthquakes in the southern Atlantic Ocean that passed through the core to a seismograph in Alaska where they were measured.

BBC: NEWS | Science/Nature | Earth's core runs ahead of crust

In addition, computers are faster and forecasters today have new tools in their arsenal, such as software that helps them predict the height of ocean waves and the interval between waves.

CNN: Forecasting "The Perfect Storm"

Tsunamis are a series of long ocean waves that can last five to 15 minutes and cause extensive flooding in coastal areas.

CNN: Widespread destruction from Japan earthquake, tsunamis

According to Teruyuki Kato, the project's leader, this arrangement can measure a buoy's vertical motion with an accuracy of a few centimetres, which will pick up dangerous tsunamis in the open ocean where they are mere ripples on the surface (they rear up into killer waves only when they reach the shallows).

ECONOMIST: New ways of tracking these killer waves may help save lives

They found that gravity waves "break" on the surfaces of planes, just like ocean waves breaking on the beach, causing much of the turbulence that occurs out of the blue in clear air.

MSN: Blame gravity waves for turbulence - Technology & science - Science - LiveScience | NBC News