Waves

Front 1

Waves:

Back 1

A disturbance that propagates through a material.

Front 2

Wave Height:

Back 2

Vertical height between crest and trough.

Front 3

Wavelength:

Back 3

The horizontal distance between two crests or two troughs.

Front 4

Wave Period:

Back 4

The time it takes for one wavelength to pass a fixed point.

Front 5

Wave Crest:

Back 5

Highest part of the wave above the average water line.

Front 6

Wave Trough:

Back 6

Lowest part of the wave below the average water line.

Front 7

Fetch:

Back 7

The distance that the wind has traveled across the open ocean.

Front 8

Whitecap:

Back 8

When a wave reaches a point where it’s no longer sustainable, and it breaks.

Front 9

Swells:

Back 9

When a wave is longer in length and shorter in height.

Front 10

Waves of Oscillation:

Back 10

Particles amongst these waves move in a near-circular motion.

Front 11

Waves of Translation:

Back 11

Particles affected by these waves move with the wave.

Front 12

Surf:

Back 12

Turbulent water caused by the breaking of waves.

Front 13

Swash:

Back 13

The turbulent sheet of water moving up the slope of the beach.

Front 14

Backwash:

Back 14

The water that flows back down the beach toward the surf zone.

Front 15

Wave Refraction:

Back 15

The slowing and bending of waves in shallow water.

Front 16

Beach Drift:

Back 16

A zig-zag pattern of sediment movement along the beach face.

Front 17

Longshore Currents:

Back 17

A current within the surf zone that runs parallel to the shore.

Front 18

Wave-cut Cliffs:

Back 18

When cliffs are eroded underneath by waves eroding them.

Front 19

Sea Arch:

Back 19

When a sea cave erodes to the opposite side, forming an arch.

Front 20

Sea Stack:

Back 20

When the arch of a sea arch falls, leaving a column

Front 21

Spit:

Back 21

Linear ridges of sediment that extend in the direction of the longshore current.

Front 22

Baymouth Bar:

Back 22

When a spit completely cuts off a bay from the ocean.

Front 23

Tombolo:

Back 23

A ridge of sand that connects an island/sea stack to the mainland.

Front 24

Barrier Island:

Back 24

When a Baymouth Bar disconnects from the mainland, forming an island.

Front 25

Groin:

Back 25

A barrier built parallel to the beach to trap sand that is moving parallel to the shore.

Front 26

Breakwater:

Back 26

A barrier built parallel to the shore to protect the shore from the force of large waves.

Front 27

Seawall:

Back 27

Massive walls intended to prevent waves from reaching the areas behind it.

Front 28

Beach Nourishment:

Back 28

Dumping large amounts of sand to a beach to combat erosion.

Front 29

Emergent Coasts:

Back 29

Occur when an area experiences uplift or as a result of a drop in sea level.

Front 30

Submergent Coasts:

Back 30

Occur when an area subsides or as a result of a rise in sea level.

Front 31

Tides:

Back 31

Daily changes in the elevation of the ocean surface.

Front 32

Tidal Currents:

Back 32

The horizontal flow of water associated with the rise and fall of the tide.

Front 33

Flood Current:

Back 33

Tidal currents that move into a coastal zone as the tide rises.

Front 34

Ebb Currents:

Back 34

Tidal currents that move out of a coastal zone as the tide falls.

Front 35

Slack Water:

Back 35

Periods of little or no current.