Waves and Water Dynamics

Vocabulary flashcards about waves and water dynamics.

Disturbing Force

Wind blowing across the surface of the ocean generates most waves.

Air-Ocean Interface

The boundary where the atmosphere and ocean are in contact, generating ocean waves.

Atmospheric Waves

Giant air masses with different densities interacting in the atmosphere, affecting weather patterns.

Internal Waves

Waves generated within the ocean at the interface of water masses with varying densities, associated with the pycnocline.

Pycnocline

The ocean layer where there is a rapid change in density with depth, often associated with the creation of internal waves.

Wave

Energy transferring through a medium (in this case, the ocean).

Wave Period

The time it takes for one wavelength (crest to crest) to pass a fixed point.

Wave Frequency

The number of wave crests that pass a fixed location per unit of time.

Wave Base

The depth from the surface to which water particles are affected by the wave energy; calculated as half of the wavelength.

Wave Steepness

The ratio of wave height to wavelength; if it exceeds 1/7, the wave will break.

Longitudinal Wave

A wave where particles compress and expand in the same direction as the energy transfer (push-pull wave).

Transverse Wave

A wave where particles move up and down, perpendicular to the direction of energy transfer.

Orbital Wave

A wave where water particles move in a circular fashion, primarily on the ocean surface.

Wave Crest

The highest point of a wave.

Wave Trough

The lowest point of a wave.

Still Water Level

The theoretical level of the ocean if there were no wave energy; also called the zero energy level.

Wave Height

The distance between the crest and the trough of a wave.

Wavelength

The distance between two successive crests or troughs of a wave.

Capillary Waves

Small waves with V-shaped troughs and wavelengths less than 1.74 cm, formed by wind stress on the sea surface.

Gravity Waves

Waves with pointed crests and rounded troughs, where gravity aids in the transfer of energy through the water.

Sea

An area where wind-driven waves are generated.

Fetch

The distance over which the wind blows in a sea area.

Swell

Uniform, symmetrical waves that travel outward in front of a stormy area.

White Caps

Breaking waves with foam, indicating wave steepness has exceeded 1/7.

Fully Developed Sea

An area of the ocean where waves cannot grow any larger for a given wind speed because they lose as much energy breaking as they gain from the wind.

Wave Train

A group of waves with similar characteristics moving in the same direction.

Decay Distance

The distance over which waves change from choppy to a uniform swell.

Constructive Interference

When two waves or swells are in phase and combine to create a larger wave.

Destructive Interference

When two waves are out of phase and cancel each other out, resulting in a calmer sea.

Mixed Interference

A combination of constructive and destructive interference, resulting in a choppy wave pattern.

Rogue Waves

Massive, spontaneous, solitary ocean waves that occur in the open ocean and reach very high heights.

Surf Zone

The area where waves are breaking near the shore.

Shoaling

The process of water becoming gradually more shallow as it approaches land.

Spilling Breakers

Waves that break gradually over a long distance on a gently sloping seafloor.

Plunging Breakers

Waves that curl over a pocket of air and break with moderate steepness, ideal for surfing.

Surging Breakers

Waves that break onshore on a very steep seafloor, good for body surfing but not for traditional surfing.

Wave Refraction

The bending of waves as they approach the shore, causing them to become nearly parallel to the shoreline.

Standing Waves

Waves where two waves with the same wavelength are moving in opposite directions, causing the water particles to move up and down in an enclosed basin.

Tsunami

A seismic sea wave caused by earthquakes, underwater landslides, or volcanic eruptions.