WAVES is a one-dimensional daily-timestep model that simulates the fluxes of mass and energy between the atmosphere, vegetation, and soil systems, which has been under development since 1993. It is a process-based model that couples these systems by modelling the interactions and feedbacks between them. WAVES attempts to model each sub-system with a consistent level of detail, so that no area is over emphasized or requires too many parameters, and similarly no area is treated in a trivial manner. More than this, WAVES tries to strike a balance between the complexity of the model as a whole, the usefulness of the model and its ease of use, and the accuracy of the model outputs. If these balances have been struck, then WAVES should be easy enough to use, but accurate enough to believe.

The material presented represents a working document for WAVES v3.5. It is anticipated that further changes will be made to WAVES in the future, as new processes are required to be modelled, and new techniques and physical descriptions are developed.