WAVES By: Bridget Pettit & Victor Perez

Waves are a result of forces acting on the surface of the water. GENERATIONG FORCES : is a forces (ie rock or wind) that disturbs the waters surface, this generating force moves outward away from the point of the disturbance.

The force that causes the water to return to the undisturbed level is called RESTORING FORCE. If the amount water that is displaced is small, the restoring force is the surface tension of the water, and the small waves are referred to as CAPILLARY WAVES. When the amount of water displaced is quite sizeable, the restoring force is gravity and the waves are referred to as GRAVITY WAVES. Generating forces can be any event that adds energy to the surface of the sea

As the wind blows across the surface of still water, it creates drag (Friction) that lifts some of the water away from the surface. If the amount of water displaced is very small, the surface tension of the water pulls it back to restore a smooth surface, and a series of ripples are formed. If the force of the air is greater than a small breeze, more friction is created As the surface becomes rougher, it becomes easier for the wind to add more energy. The frictional drag between the air and the water is increased.

Ocean waves are generated by wind and restored by wind and restored by gravity, this is called PROGRESSIVE WAVES. These type of waves Can be formed by local store centers or by the prevailing wind of the wind belts such as the trade winds or westerlies. As wind waves are formed by the storm, they are forced to increase in size and speed by the input Of energy from the storm, sometimes known as forced waves. PERIOD the time required for one wavelength to pass a fixed point (wave speed = wavelength/period)

Long wavelengths and long periods = faster movement that short of both. Eventually, escape a storm and appear as a regular pattern of wave crests on the ocean’s surface. The long period, uniform waves know as swells. They carry a great amount of energy and manage to travel for 1000s of kilometers.

DEEPWATER WAVES= waves that occur in water that is deeper than one half of a wave’s wavelength. Height is increased by wind speed, the duration of wind, and the fetch. Large waves can be produced only by all three of those factors being at a high production number.

A deep-water wave become a shallow water wave when it enters shallow water. The friction that results from the orbit of the wave dragging the bottom results in the slow end of the wave. Speed and length of shallow water waves are determine by the depth of the water.

SURF ZONE= is the area along a coast where waves slow down, become steeper, break, and disappear. BREAKERS= form in the surf zone when the lower part of a wave is slowed by friction with the bottom but its crest continues moving toward the shore at a speed faster than that of the wave. The two most common types of breaker are plungers and spillers.

Plungers form when the beach slope is steep. End up with a sudden loss of energy and a splash. Spillers are more common and usually form on flat beaches. Last longer because of the gradual movement of slowing down.

TSUNAMIS= sudden movements of the earth’s crust produce earthquakes, which may produce large seismic sea waves. A.K.A. Tidal Waves. End up in destruction and they form because of the sudden increase from a small ocean depth of the sea floor to a larger depth.