OceanographyLesson 2 of 4 in the course Tides and waves

Wind-Wave Physics: Formation, Propagation, Breaking, and Energy

5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 5 match pairs · 5 fill-in sentences · English

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Summary

Wind waves are surface waves created when wind transfers energy to water. This lesson introduces the basic vocabulary of wind waves and explains how wind, fetch, duration, and water depth work together to shape them.

A wind wave is a wave on the free surface of a body of water that forms as wind blows across it. Ocean wind waves are mainly surface gravity waves: gravity is the principal restoring force that helps return displaced water toward equilibrium.

All flashcards

What is a wind sea?
A wave system still being generated and directly affected by local wind.
What is a swell?
Waves that have travelled beyond their generation area and are no longer significantly affected by its local wind.
What is significant wave height?
The average height of the highest one-third of waves in a selected sample.
What is Stokes drift?
A small net displacement of water after a wave passes.
What is wave group velocity?
The speed at which a group of waves, and its energy, travels.

Quiz questions

  1. How is significant wave height defined for a sample of waves?Answer: The average height of the highest one-third of the waves.
  2. What distinguishes a plunging breaker from other common breaker types?Answer: Its crest curls or pitches forward, often forming a barrel.
  3. What makes a rogue wave unusual relative to its surrounding sea state?Answer: It is much higher than the other waves around it.
  4. In deep water, how does group velocity compare with the phase speed of waves?Answer: Group velocity is half the phase speed.
  5. Which type of ocean-wave-generated microseism is stronger and commonly arises from interfering waves?Answer: A secondary microseism.

Based on the Wikipedia article Wind wave, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.

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