Extreme sea state measurements by stereo video system

The comprehension of the energy balance between the wind input, dissipation is still partially empirical. In this context, new field observations are still revealing important information about the sea surface dynamics. Wave breaking is the main source of wave energy dissipation on a global scale, however, the phenomena is still misunderstood. To extend the range of the breaking observation to storm conditions, an oceanographic campaign was carried on a location highly exposed to extreme sea states. The measurements acquired revealed important aspects of the sea surface under storm conditions and provided a unique dataset to explore the sea surface.