Waves and tides
Progressive wind waves
Waves generated by wind, restored by gravity, and progress in a particular direction.
Generating force
Waves started by disturbances. The three most common ones are wind, earthquakes, and landslides.
standing waves
Waves that do not progress because they form in enclosed bodies of water such as bays and estuaries.
Intermediate waves
Waves traveling in water between ½ and 1/20th of its wavelength.
Restoring force
A force that causes the water surface to go back to its undisturbed state.
flood tide
A rising tide, might notice the beach shrinking because eater is moving towards shore.
Spring tides
A tide just after a new or full moon, when there is the greatest difference between high and low water.
Internal waves
A wave forming under the surface and forms between waters of two different densities.
Deep-water wave
A wave that travels in water that is deeper than one half of its wavelength.
Crest
Highest point of a wave
Rip currents
Areas of rapid seaward-flowing water.
Refracted
Bent waves as they move from deep to shallow water.
Tidal bores
Can be up to 8m high and can travel as fast as 64 km/hr. Produce waves that can travel very long distances.
Wave reinforcement
Can cause very large waves to form seemingly out of nowhere.
Tsunamis
Can travel very long distances and cause great damage to coastal areas.
Trough
Lowest point of a wave
Wavelength
Distance from crest to crest or trough to trough.
Swells
Evenly spaced waves with smoothly rounded crests and troughs.
Node
The point at which a standing wave oscillates.
Semidiurnal
They have two high and low tides of approximately the same height each day.
Period
Time it takes for two consecutive crests or troughs to pass the same point.
Ebb tide
Water is rushing back toward sea.
Shallow-water wave
Wave travels faster in water than that is less than 1/20th of their wavelength.
Slack tide
When tide is changing between high and low tides.
Mixed semidiurnal
Occur when an area has two high tides and two low tides of different heights each day.
Diurnal
Occur when there is only one high and one low tide each day. These are uncommon.
Neap tides
Occurs when the moon is in the first and third quarter.
Amplitude
One half of the wavelength.
Frequency
Reciprocal of the wave period. It is equal to the wavelength divided by the wave period.
Longshore transport
Responsible for moving sand and sediments down a beach.
Wave cancellation
The crest of one wave meets the trough of another.
Capillary waves
The drag along the water that causes small waves to form.
Antinode
The high and low points at each end of a standing wave.