Hi! Luigi recently asked me about the longest wave records in a single location. I did a little digging (with help from Gemini), and I thought I would share what I found here in hopes that some of you know more about this than me and can either verify or condradict. These are simply ranked by span of record. Where possible, I’ve grabbed the data and plotted it as a sanity check.
| Rank | Station Name | Region / Sea Basin | Lat | Lon | Period | Span (Yrs) | Data Status | Data Access Classification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | OWS ‘Mike’ (Station M) | Norwegian Sea, Norway | 66.00° N | 2.00° E | 1953-10 to 2009-12 | 56.2 | N/A | Closed / Historical Archive (MET Norway / WMO) |
| 2 | NOWPHAS Sakata Port | Sea of Japan, Japan | 38.99° N | 139.80° E | 1970-01 to 2024-12 | 55.0 | In Hand | Controlled Access (MLIT) |
| 3 | Botany Bay Waverider | New South Wales, Australia | 34.00° S | 151.23° E | 1971-04 to 2026-03 | 54.9 | N/A | Controlled / Proprietary (MHL NSW Govt) |
| 4 | NOWPHAS Kashima Port | Western Pacific, Japan | 35.93° N | 140.69° E | 1972-04 to 2024-12 | 52.7 | In Hand | Controlled Access (MLIT) |
| 5 | NDBC 46001 (Gulf of Alaska) | Northeast Pacific, USA | 56.30° N | 147.93° W | 1974-12 to 2025-12 | 51.1 | In Hand | Open Access (NOAA NDBC) |
| 6 | NDBC 46002 (Oregon Offshore) | Northeast Pacific, USA | 42.61° N | 130.49° W | 1975-09 to 2025-12 | 50.3 | In Hand | Open Access (NOAA NDBC) |
| 7 | NDBC 42001 (Mid Gulf of Mexico) | Gulf of Mexico, USA | 25.93° N | 89.65° W | 1976-01 to 2025-12 | 49.9 | In Hand | Open Access (NOAA NDBC) |
| 8 | NDBC 41002 (South Hatteras) | Northwest Atlantic, USA | 31.76° N | 74.84° W | 1976-02 to 2025-12 | 49.9 | In Hand | Open Access (NOAA NDBC) |
| 9 | CDIP 073 / LJPC1 (Scripps Pier) | Southern California, USA | 32.87° N | 117.26° W | 1976-05 to 2025-12 | 49.6 | In Hand | Open Access (CDIP / SIO) |
| 10 | NDBC 41001 (East Hatteras) | Northwest Atlantic, USA | 34.68° N | 72.64° W | 1976-06 to 2025-10 | 49.4 | In Hand | Open Access (NOAA NDBC) |
| 11 | NDBC 42002 (W. Gulf of Mexico) | Gulf of Mexico, USA | 26.06° N | 93.65° W | 1976-10 to 2025-12 | 49.3 | In Hand | Open Access (NOAA NDBC) |
| 12 | NDBC 46005 (Washington Offshore) | Northeast Pacific, USA | 46.10° N | 131.02° W | 1976-09 to 2024-11 | 48.2 | In Hand | Open Access (NOAA NDBC) |
| 13 | Slangkop Waverider | Cape Peninsula, South Africa | 34.15° S | 18.28° E | 1978-02 to 2026-03 | 48.1 | N/A | Controlled Access (CSIR request) |
| 14 | Bilbao / Vizcaya (REMRO) | Bay of Biscay, Spain | 43.37° N | 3.05° W | 1978-05 to 2026-03 | 47.8 | N/A | Controlled Access (Puertos del Estado) |
| 15 | Cairns Waverider | Coral Sea / GBR, Australia | 16.73° S | 145.71° E | 1975-05 to 2022-12 | 47.6 | In Hand | Open Access (Queensland DES) |
| 16 | Mackay Waverider | Coral Sea, Australia | 21.16° S | 149.55° E | 1975-09 to 2022-12 | 47.2 | In Hand | Open Access (Queensland DES) |
| 17 | Ekofisk Complex (Platform 2/4) | Central North Sea, Norway | 56.54° N | 3.21° E | 1979-01 to 2026-03 | 47.1 | N/A | Closed / Proprietary (ConocoPhillips) |
| 18 | Helgoland Waverider | German Bight, Germany | 54.22° N | 7.85° E | 1979-02 to 2026-03 | 47.1 | N/A | Controlled Access (German BSH) |
| 19 | Townsville Waverider | Coral Sea, Australia | 19.16° S | 147.06° E | 1975-11 to 2022-12 | 47.0 | In Hand | Open Access (Queensland DES) |
| 20 | NDBC 45001 (Mid Lake Superior) | Great Lakes, USA | 48.06° N | 87.78° W | 1979-05 to 2025-12 | 46.6 | In Hand | Open Access (NOAA NDBC) |
| 21 | NDBC 45002 (North Lake Michigan) | Great Lakes, USA | 45.34° N | 86.41° W | 1979-09 to 2025-11 | 46.2 | In Hand | Open Access (NOAA NDBC) |
| 22 | Brisbane Waverider | Coral / Tasman Sea, Australia | 27.49° S | 153.63° E | 1976-10 to 2022-12 | 46.1 | In Hand | Open Access (Queensland DES) |
| 23 | FRF 17m Waverider (Duck, NC) | NW Atlantic Coast, USA | 36.18° N | 75.71° W | 1980-10 to 2026-09 | 45.9 | In Hand | Open Access (USACE FRF) |
| 24 | Acqua Alta AAOT (Venice) | Adriatic Sea / Med, Italy | 45.31° N | 12.51° E | 1979-01 to 2024-05 | 45.4 | In Hand | Controlled Access (CNR/ISMAR) |
| 25 | NDBC 44005 (Gulf of Maine) | Northwest Atlantic, USA | 43.19° N | 69.21° W | 1978-12 to 2024-03 | 45.3 | In Hand | Open Access (NOAA NDBC) |
