A Kelvin wave raised sea levels on the West Coast. More are coming
Scientists are tracking a Kelvin wave, a planetary-scale ocean phenomenon linked to the current 'Super El Niño' that is raising sea levels along the U.S. West Coast. While not a tsunami, the wave brings increased risks of coastal flooding and warmer water temperatures.
Why it matters
As climate change intensifies weather patterns, understanding these ocean phenomena is critical for coastal infrastructure planning and flood risk management.
One of the first major signs of this year's "Super El Niño" has reached the U.S. It's called a Kelvin wave – a deep ocean wave that's currently raising sea levels along the West Coast.
Scientists have long known about Kelvin waves, but this year, the phenomena grabbed the public's attention with video explanations receiving thousands of views across TikTok and X .
"It does surprise me – I mean, here it's been around all this time," says Mark Cane, who created one of the first models to forecast and predict El Niño . "I'm sure Lord Kelvin is happy in his grave."
(Lord Kelvin, the British physicist who also developed the Kelvin temperature scale, first described the wave back in the late 1800s.)
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