Msci Exam 4

Front 1

Breaker

Back 1

Sea surface water wave has become too steep to be stable and collapses

Front 2

Capillary Wave

Back 2

Wave with wavelength less than 1.5 cm in which the primary restoring force is surface tension

Front 3

Centrifugal Force

Back 3

outward-directed force acting on a body moving along a curved path or rotating about an axis; an internal force

Front 4

Centripetal force

Back 4

inward-directed force necessary to keep an object moving in a curved oath or rotating about an axis

Front 5

Deep-water wave

Back 5

wave in water; the depth of which is greater than one-half the wavelength

Front 6

diffraction

Back 6

process that transmits energy laterally along a wave crest

Front 7

dispersion (sorting)

Back 7

sorting of waves as they move out from a storm center; occurs because long-period waves travel faster in deep water than short period waves

Front 8

diurnal tide (declinational tide)

Back 8

tide with one high water and one low water each tidal day

Front 9

dynamic equilibrium

Back 9

state in which the sums of all changes are balanced and there is no net change

Front 10

episodic wave

Back 10

abnormally high wave unrelated to local storm conditions

Front 11

equilibrium tide

Back 11

theoretical tide formed by the tide-producing forces of the moon and sun on a nonrotating, water-covered earth

Front 12

fetch

Back 12

continuous area of water over which the wind blows in essentially a constant direction

Front 13

forced wave

Back 13

wave generated by a continuously acting force and caused to move at a speed faster than it freely travels

Front 14

free wave

Back 14

wave that continues to move at its natural speed after its generation by a force

Front 15

generating force

Back 15

disturbing force that creates a wave, such as wind or a landslide entering water

Front 16

gravity wave

Back 16

water wave form in which gravity acts as the restoring force; a wave with wavelength greater than 2 cm

Front 17

group speed

Back 17

speed at which a group of waves travels (in deep water, group speed equals one-half the speed of an individual wave); the speed at which the wave energy is propagated

Front 18

internal wave

Back 18

wave created below the sea surface at the boundary between two density layers

Front 19

mixed tide

Back 19

type of tide in which large inequalities between the two high waters and two low waters occur in a tidal day

Front 20

moon tide

Back 20

portion of the tide generated solely by the moon's tide-raising force, as distinguished from that of the sun

Front 21

neap tides

Back 21

tides occurring near the times of the first and last quarters of the moon, when them range of the tide is least

Front 22

progressive wind wave

Back 22

wave that moves, or progresses, in a certain direction

Front 23

restoring force

Back 23

force that returns a disturbed water surface to the equilibrium level, such as surface tension and gravity

Front 24

rip current

Back 24

strong surface current flowing seaward from shore; the return movement of water piled up on the shore by incoming waves and wind

Front 25

semi-diurnal tide

Back 25

tide with two high waters and two low waters each tidal day

Front 26

shallow water wave

Back 26

wave in water whose depth is less than one twentieth the average wavelength

Front 27

slack water

Back 27

state of tidal current when its velocity is near zero; occurs when the tidal current changes direction

Front 28

spring tides

Back 28

tides occurring near the times of the new and full moon, when the range of the tide is greatest

Front 29

standing wave

Back 29

type of wave in which the surface of the water oscillates vertically between fixed points called nodes, without progression; the points of maximum vertical rise and fall called antinodes

Front 30

storm center

Back 30

area of origin for surface waves generated by the wind; an intense atmospheric low-pressure system

Front 31

sun tide

Back 31

portion of the tide generated solely by the sun's tide-raising force, as distinguished from that of the moon

Front 32

swell

Back 32

long and relatively uniform wind-generated ocean waves that have traveled out of their generating area

Front 33

tidal bore

Back 33

high-tide crest that advances rapidly up an estuary or river as a breaking wave

Front 34

tidal current

Back 34

alternating horizontal movement of water associated with the rise and fall of the tide

Front 35

tidal datum

Back 35

reference level from which ocean depths and tide heights are measured; the zero tide level

Front 36

tidal day

Back 36

time interval between two successive passes of the moon over a meridian, approximately twenty-four house and fifty minutes

Front 37

tide wave

Back 37

long-period gravity wave that has ts origin in the tide-producing force and is observed as the rise and fall of the tide

Front 38

tsunami (seismic sea wave)

Back 38

long-period sea wave produced by a submarine earthquake, volcanic eruption, sediment slide, or seafloor faulting. It may travel across the ocean for thousands of miles unnoticed from its point of origin and build up to great heights over shallow water at the shore

Front 39

wave crest

Back 39

highest part of a wave

Front 40

wave height

Back 40

vertical distance between a wave crest and the adjacent trough

Front 41

wave length

Back 41

horizontal distance between two successive wave crests or two successive wave troughs

Front 42

wave period

Back 42

time required for two successive wave crests or troughs to pass a fixed point

Front 43

wave ray

Back 43

line indicating the direction waves travel; drawn at right angles to the wave crests

Front 44

wave steepness

Back 44

ratio of wave height to wavelength

Front 45

wave train

Back 45

series of similar waves from the same direction

Front 46

wave trough

Back 46

lowest part of the wave