Waves are the undulations of ocean surface
Ocean waves passes wave form and wave energy over vast
distances, although the water itself does not move (except
up and down)
Water molecules move in an orbital motion as the wave
passes.
Diameter of orbit increases with increasing wave size and
decreases with depth below the water surface.
What causes waves?
Disturbing forces over/on oceans causes waves.
• Wind blowing across water creates most waves in the
ocean.
• Movement of fluids with different densities (within fluid)
• Mass movement into ocean (landslides, calving icebergs)
• Seafloor movement
• Gravitational attraction among Earth, Moon, and Sun
• Human activities
[Link]
CHARACTERISTICS OF WAVES
Parts of a wave
Wave crest – The very top/ highest part of a wave
Wave trough – The lowest part of a wave
Wave parameters
Wave length (L) : Horizontal
distance between two
successive wave crests or
wave troughs measured
parallel to the direction of
travel.
Wave height (H) : Vertical
distance from a wave crest to
a wave trough.
Wave Period (T) : The time
required for successive wave crests
to pass a fixed point.
Wave amplitude (H/2) : The
maximum vertical displacement of
the sea surface from still water
level.
Wave steepness (H/L) : The ratio of
wave height to wave length
Wave frequency (σ) : 2∏ / T
Wave number (k) : 2∏ / L
Wave celerity (C) : wave velocity ;
The rate of propagation of wave
=L/T=σ/k
Deep, transitional and shallow water waves
In deep water, particle paths are circles. In shallow water, the particle
paths flatten to ellipses.
The change from deep to shallow water waves is observed when the
wavelength L becomes larger than twice the water depth h.
CLASSIFICATION OF OCEAN WAVES
I. According to the wave period;
i) Capillary waves (< 0.1 sec)
ii) Ultra gravity waves ( 0.1 – 1 sec)
iii) Gravity waves (1 - 30 sec)
iv) Infra gravity waves (30 sec – 5 min)
v) Long period waves (5 min – 12 hours)
vi) Ordinary tidal waves (12 – 24 hours)
vii) Trans-tidal waves (> 24 hours)
CLASSIFICATION OF OCEAN WAVES
I. According to the wave period;
i) Capillary waves (< 0.1 sec)
ii) Ultra gravity waves ( 0.1 – 1 sec)
iii) Gravity waves (1 - 30 sec)
iv) Infra gravity waves (30 sec – 5 min)
v) Long period waves (5 min – 12 hours)
vi) Ordinary tidal waves (12 – 24 hours)
vii) Trans-tidal waves (> 24 hours)
II. According to the depth – waveform relationship;
(a) Deep water waves
Waves which are moving through water
deeper than half their wavelength are known
as deep water waves.
They are short waves
d / L is large i.e; d/L >1/2
C = 1.25√L
Eg. Capillary waves
(b) Shallow water waves
Waves which are moving through water with a
depth less than its wavelength, are called
shallow water waves.
They are long waves
When a wave enter into shallow water or it
propagates towards the coastline, velocity
decreases due to friction
d / L is small i.e; d/L <1/20
C = √gd = 3.13√d
Eg. Tsunami
III. According to the nature of restoring force
or controlling force;
Capillary waves – surface tension
Ultra gravity waves – surface tension and gravity
Gravity waves – gravity
Infra gravity waves – gravity and coriolis effect
Long period waves – gravity and coriolis effect
Ordinary tidal waves – gravity and coriolis effect
Trans- tidal waves – gravity and coriolis effect
IV. According to generating force;
Winds are responsible for the generation of capillary waves,
ultra gravity waves, gravity waves and infra gravity waves.
Waves can be generated by storms and earthquakes ( e,g.
Tsunami), by gravitational attraction of sun and moon
(ordinary tidal waves) and by storms, sun and moon (Trans-
tidal waves).
V. According to motion of wave form;
• Wave propagates laterally – progressive wave . e.g.
Surface waves, Internal waves, Tsunamis.
• Wave does not propagate laterally, but moves in a
vertical direction – standing wave e.g. seiches ( They
are forming when two progressive waves move in
opposite directions and interference occurs)
Wave Propagation in Shallow water
The shallower the water, the greater the interaction between the
wave and the bottom which alters the wave properties and causing
the wave to collapse.
As depth decreases
wave speed (C), wavelength (λ or L) decreases
wave height (H) increases
wave period (T) remains unchanged
Troughs become flattened
wave profile becomes extremely asymmetrical
Wave-Breaking
• As the wave enters into shallow water, the orbital path is
changing(circle to elliptical)
• Orbital velocity changes
• Short and rapid landward acceleration under a sharp crest
and larger and slower seaward movement under a long flat
trough.
• Increasing velocity of the water at the crest exceeds the
decreasing velocity of water at the trough.
• Crest moves faster than trough and it curls over at the top.
• Water breaks and forms surf and foam.
Breaking waves are generally divided into 4 main types, depending on the
steepness of the waves and the slope of the shoreface:
Very flat shoreface Steep shoreface Very steep shoreface
Depth-induced wave-breaking: spilling, plunging and
surging.
Spilling takes place when steep
waves propagate over flat
shorefaces.
Spilling breaking is a gradual breaking
which takes place as a foam bore on
the front topside of the wave over a
distance of 6– 7 wavelengths.
Spilling breakers: The waves
break on a gentle sloping bottom. Top
of the wave crest “spills over” wave.
Energy released gradually across
entire surfzone.
Plunging is the form of breaking
where the upper part of the wave
breaks over its own lower part in
one big splash whereby most of the
energy is lost.
This form of breaking takes place in
cases of moderately steep waves on
moderately sloping shorefaces.
Plunging breakers: The
waves break on a beach with
moderately sloping bottom. The
wave crest “curls over” front of
the wave. Energy dissipates
quickly
Surging is when the lower part of
the wave surges up on the
foreshore in which case there is
hardly any surf-zone.
This form of breaking takes place
when relatively long waves
(swell) meet steep shorefaces.
Surging breakers:
The waves break on a beach
which has a very steep bottom.
They just “surges” at the
coastline. Never breaks as it
never attains critical wave
steepness. Energy released
seaward.
Collapsing breakers
Collapsing waves are a cross between plunging and surging, in which
the crest never fully breaks, yet the bottom face of the wave gets
steeper and collapses, resulting in foam.
Wave Refraction – in shallow water
•Refraction is the bending of waves because of varying water depths
underneath.
•It is the turning of the direction of wave propagation when the wave fronts
travel at an angle with the depth contours at shallow water.
•The refraction is caused by the fact that the waves propagate more slowly in
shallow water than in deep water. The part of a wave in shallow water moves
slower than the part of a wave in deeper water. So when the depth under a
wave crest varies along the crest, the wave bends.
•The divergence and convergence of energy in waves is happening due to WAVE
REFRACTION
• The waves will diverge over a submarine canyon or bay – The wave height
decreases
• The waves will converge over a submarine ridge or headland – The wave
height increases
Wave Diffraction
Process at the mouth of harbours
Wave energy spreads over harbours and forms circular arcs
Diffraction usually happens when waves encounter surface-
piercing obstacle, such as a breakwater or an island.
It would seem that on the lee side of the island, the water
would be perfectly calm;
Wave Reflection
Wave reflection occurs when waves bounce back from an obstacle they
face. Reflected waves can cause interference with incoming waves creating
standing waves (a wave which oscillates in time but whose peak amplitude
profile does not move in space)
Kelvin Waves
A Kelvin wave is a wave in the ocean or atmosphere that balances the Earth's
Coriolis force against a topographic boundary such as a coastline, or a waveguide
such as the equator.
- It is gravity driven and it is non-dispersive, i.e., the phase speed of the wave crests is
equal to the group speed of the wave energy for all frequencies. This means that it retains
its shape as it moves in the alongshore direction over time
There are two types of Kelvin waves - coastal and equatorial.
They are often excited by an an abrupt change in the overlying wind field, such as the shift in the
trade winds at the start of El Niño.
For example, positive (eastward) anomalies in wind stress in the central Pacific excite positive
anomalies in 20°C isotherm depth which propagate to the east as equatorial Kelvin waves
Equatorial waves propagate to the east in the northern hemisphere, using the equator as a wave
guide.
Coastal Kelvin waves propagate around the northern hemisphere oceans in a counterclockwise
direction using the coastline as a wave guide.
These waves, especially the surface waves are very fast moving, typically with speeds of ~2.8
m/s, or about 250 kilometers in a day. A Kelvin wave would take about 2 months to cross the
Pacific from New Guinea to South America.
Kelvin Waves
Rossby waves
Rossby waves, also known as planetary waves, are a natural phenomenon in the
atmospheres and oceans of planets that largely owe their properties to rotation of the
planet. They were first identified by Carl-Gustaf Arvid Rossby.
Oceanic Rossby waves are large-scale waves within an ocean basin. They have a low
amplitude, on the order of centimeters (at the surface) to meters (at the thermocline),
compared to a very long wavelength, on the order of hundreds of kilometers of
atmospheric Rossby waves.
They gain momentum from wind stress at the ocean surface layer and are thought to
communicate climatic changes due to variability in forcing, due to both the wind and
buoyancy.
Both barotropic and baroclinic waves cause variations of the sea surface height,
although the length of the waves made them difficult to detect until the advent of
satellite altimetry. Satellite observations have confirmed the existence of oceanic
Rossby waves.
Their small amplitude (a few centimeters), their extent (an ocean basin) and their
velocity (a few kilometers per day - they take several years to cross the Pacific Ocean
at 30° latitude) made it nearly impossible to observe them with in situ measurements.
Now that we know what we are looking for, we can also detect them in other kinds of
satellite measurements. High precision altimetry, however, remains the best way of
detecting these waves.
Rossby waves from satellite altimetry
Time –longitude sections of filtered sea level in
the Pacific Ocean along 39o,32oand 21o N. These
examples are representative of extra tropical
latitudes throughout the World oceans
They are important for a variety of processes on
earth. In the ocean, they play a critical role in El
Niño, interacting with several other forces to
produce the sloshing of warm water back and
forth across the tropical Pacific every two to
seven years.
Rossby Wave
They have a low amplitude, on the order of centimeters (at the surface) to meters
(at the thermocline), compared to a very long wavelength, on the order of
hundreds of kilometers of atmospheric Rossby waves.