The mean wave period is the average time (measured from a number of waves over a time period) it takes for a wave to pass a particular point - in this case the wave buoy. It's a measure of how far apart the waves are and is also known as the zero-crossing period. Wave period is measured in seconds. Waves that have travelled from a long distance away generally have longer periods (they are further apart) while waves that are formed close by will have shorter periods (they are closer together).
The graph below shows the wave timing recorded by the Canterbury wave buoy over the past week. You can also, in the graph below this one, see the wave timing for the past 60 days.
Wave timing this week
Wave timing the past 60 days
