lecture 9

Question 1

What are waves in the ocean?

Answer 1

Waves are cyclic movements that transmit energy through matter, such as water, without the material itself traveling in the direction of the wave

Question 2

How are most surface waves generated?

Answer 2

Most surface waves are generated by the wind. Other causes include mass movements such as landslides, iceberg calving, volcanic eruptions, and human activities like ships producing wakes.

Question 3

What are the types of waves based on their propagation?

Answer 3

There are longitudinal waves (particles push and pull in the wave’s direction), transverse waves (particles move side-to-side, perpendicular to wave direction), and orbital waves (particles move in circular orbits).

Question 4

What defines wave height, wavelength, and wave period?

Answer 4

Wave height is the vertical distance between a wave’s crest and trough. Wavelength is the horizontal distance from crest to crest or trough to trough. Wave period is the time for one wavelength to pass a fixed position.

Question 5

How do deep-water waves differ from shallow-water waves?

Answer 5

Deep-water waves occur where the water depth is deeper than the wave base, with no interaction with the seafloor. Shallow-water waves occur in much shallower water than the wave base, where the seafloor interferes with the wave’s circular orbital motion.

Question 6

What factors determine the amount of energy in waves?

Answer 6

The energy in waves is determined by wind speed, wind duration (time wind blows in one direction), and wind fetch (distance wind blows in one direction)

Question 7

What is a tsunami?

Answer 7

A tsunami is a series of ocean waves with very long wavelengths, typically caused by large undersea disturbances such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, glacier calvings, or underwater landslides.

Question 8

What causes tides?

Answer 8

Tides are caused by the gravitational pull of the moon and sun on the Earth’s oceans, resulting in periodic rises and falls in sea levels.

Question 9

Can waves and tides be used as energy sources?

Answer 9

Yes, both waves and tides have the potential to be harnessed as renewable energy sources due to their ability to generate power through the movement of water