Paleo shorelines of Patagonia preserve record of Southern Ocean wave climate

Shoreline planform geometry of gravel beach ridges records the predominant direction of arriving wave energy on the order of decades to centuries. Numerical models help link nearshore wave approach angles to the offshore conditions capable of producing them. Weather regime types produce swell through atmosphere-ocean interaction. The frequency of individual weather regime occurrence varies through time. Offshore modal wave climate at a reference site in Patagonia, Argentina has rotated up to 45° clockwise since MIS 5e, owing to different ocean regions generating storm waves following synoptic weather pattern changes. Changing nearshore wave direction can place populations and infrastructure at risk.