Special Waves
50) A wave is a long body of water curling into an arched form and breaking on the shore.
51) A Tsunami is a large wave that is formed by earthquakes.
52) A rip current is a strong, narrow surface current flowing outward from a shore that results from the return flow of waves and wind-driven water.
Rip Current
53) Draw a rip current
54) Undertow is the water rushing back to the ocean after a wave crashes at shore.
54) Undertow may be strong enough to knock a person off their feet.
55) A long shore current is an ocean current that travels parallel to the shore.
Long Shore Current
56) Draw a long-shore current
57) A storm surge occurs when wind pushes a large mass of water to shore during a hurricane.
Storm Surge
Storm Surge
Storm Surge
Vocabulary
a long body of water curling into an arched form and breaking on the shore Wave
a body of water moving in a definite direction current
the alternate rising and falling of the sea due to the attraction of the moon and sun. Tide
the ability to do work. Energy is how things change and move.
the measure of the amount of dissolved salt contained in water. Salinity
the relative heaviness of objects, measured in units of mass per units of volume Density
the movement of water from the surface to greater depths down welling
the vertical movement of deep water up to the surface. Upwelling
Warm ocean current flowing from the Equator along the East Coast of America to England. Gulfstream
the effect tends to deflect moving objects to the right in the northern hemisphere and to the left in the southern and is important in the formation of cyclonic weather systems. Coriolis Effect
Warm water flowing from the Southwest Pacific towards South America and then continental deflection forces the warm water to flow north along the coast of Mexico and the U.S.A. This warm water changes the climate of the western coast of South and North America. El Nino