Are the seas really calmer at night?

[Delphinus]

Originally Posted by StirCrazy

yes they are and it is eerie. having been to many tropical coastal cities I can tell you the wave action calms down at night (unless it is storming) and the water becomes calm.

I wonder though. How much is that effect due to the fact that winds (unless it's stormy) tend to die down as soon as the sun sets? The waves gets churned up by winds, but convection currents etc. basically dwindle as soon as there's no sun heating up the earth's surface.

I have no idea what is happening to the currents under the surface, as I have never done any night dives. But tides and so on keep going obviously.