Chapter 25 Flashcards
horizontal movement of water in a well-defined pattern
current
horizontal movement of ocean water driven by wind
surface current
distance wind blows over open water
fetch
group of long, rolling waves of similar size
swell
cold currents driven by density and temperature
deep currents
when wind blows the crest off a wave
whitecaps
What are the three factors of wave size?
1/ speed of wind
2/ amount of time the wind blows
3/ fetch
The top of the wave is ___ than the bottom. Why?
faster
friction
foamy mass of water that washes onto the shore
breaker
process by which ocean waves bend directly toward the coastline as they approach shallow water
refraction
irregular current pulled back into deeper water by gravity
undertow
when water from large breakers returns to the ocean through channels cut through underwater sandbars that are parallel to the beach
rip currents
form when waves approach the beach at an angle
longshore currents
giant seismic ocean waves involving the entire water column
tsunamis
periodic rise and fall of the water level in oceans and large bodies of water
tide
difference between ocean water at high and low tide
tidal range
greatest difference between tides (new/full moons)
spring tides
smallest difference between tides (first-quarter & third-quarter moons)
neap tides
movement of water toward and away from the coast as a result of the rise and fall of the tides
tidal currents
tidal current toward the coast
flood tide
tidal current away from the coast
ebb tide
time between flood/ebb tides where there is no movement of the water
slack water
surge of water that rushes upstream in a river
tidal bore
