Science of Surfing

Science of Surfing

Home
Archive
About
Why is sand eroded by big swells?
It's January and the sandy bottom you knew by heart has vanished, replaced by cobblestones and reefs that weren't there last week.
 • 
Kevin Okun
3
Why aren't tide charts centered at mid tide?
The fools down at Tide Charts Incorporated seem to have failed basic math.
 • 
Kevin Okun
How much sewage are you surfing in?
Remember when the only forecast we cared about was wave height and wind direction?
 • 
Kevin Okun
What makes tsunamis different from the waves we surf?
The word tsunami literally means "harbor wave" in Japanese, which tells you something about where these waves become most dangerous.
 • 
Kevin Okun
1

July 2025

What have we learned this past year and what's next?
A year ago, we started asking questions that probably pop into every surfer's head at some point.
 • 
Kevin Okun
1
What would surfing be like on the Moon?
Let's make some assumptions.
 • 
Kevin Okun
Is surf therapy effective?
Anyone who surfs has witnessed the end of a bad day transform into the promise of a good one within the same 24-hour span.
 • 
Kevin Okun
Where does wave energy go?
The waves we surf come from near and far, generated by winds pulling at the water's surface.
 • 
Kevin Okun

June 2025

Why does light dance underwater?
When you look at the seafloor on a sunny day, the light seems to dance all over.
 • 
Kevin Okun
Why don't coastal currents follow the tide? Part 3
We've covered the motivation and the field work of this project. Now comes the payoff - what did all those measurements actually tell us about the…
 • 
Kevin Okun
Why don't coastal currents follow the tides? Part 2
Last week, we introduced the idea that coastal trapped waves, not surface tides, drive the dominant tidal frequency currents in San Diego's inner shelf…
 • 
Kevin Okun
1
Why don't coastal currents follow the tides? Part 1
We're going to take a break from fins for a bit.
 • 
Kevin Okun
2
© 2025 Kevin Okun
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture