I study the role of waves in the larger meteorological and oceanographic context, specifically (1) how they govern momentum and energy exchange between wind and ocean currents, and (2) how they contribute to Lagrangian surface transport of pollutants, think oil spills or microplastics.
You can skim through my papers at https://milancurcic.com/publications. There is also a nice short video where my boss describes what we do in the lab: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6c20IqR2mw