Chapter 7: Waves in the Ocean Homework

Review of basic Concepts

[1] What is wave base. And how does the position of wave base distinguish between a deep water and shallow
water wave?
● Wave base is the depth to which energy related to a surface wave can be measured

● The position of a wave base plays a large role in determining whether or not a wave is deep or shallow.
If there is no interaction between the seabed and a wave with circular orbits then the wave would be
classified as a deep water wave, whereas if wave base orbits are elliptical and they become more
flattened towards the bottom then it can be classified as a shallow wave

[2] What is a tsunami? How is it created?

● A tsunami is a slumping of a large mass of sediment that disturbs the overlying water surface and
produces a series of flat, long-period waves

● Some ways that tsunamis are produced are by Earthquakes, Volcanic explosions and Submarine
landslides

Critical Thinking
[3] Why is it technically proper to refer to the speed of an ocean wave as celerity rather than velocity?
● It is technically proper to refer to the speed of an ocean wave as celerity rather than velocity because
celerity refers specifically to the speed at which a wave energy travels, while velocity is a more general
term that refers to the speed of an object

[4] In general terms what would be the nature (period, wavelength, height) of the first swell to reach a beach
that is located far from the storm center (fetch)? How would the physical appearance change with time along
this beach?

● Swell are the waves that have moved far from the area where they were generated. So the first swell
(wave) that the beach which is located far from the centre of it would be flat, having longer period and
longer wavelength because as the distance increases period and wavelength increases. As the storm
moves towards the beach, waves gets smaller and wave height increases due to high energy

Science by the numbers

[5] You are in a boat anchored in 12 meters of water. You determined the time it takes for pairs of
consecutive wave crests to pass your boar was 8 seconds.
[a] Calculate the speed assuming the waves are deep water waves.
[b] Calculate the wavelength again assuming the waves are deep water waves.
[c] Calculate the speed assuming the waves are shallow water waves.
[d] What would the wave speed be in 4 meters of water? And in 1 meter of water?

● Deep water wave speed = 1.56 * wave period [1.56 came from gravity/2*pi]
DW wave speed = 1.56 * 8 secs = 12.48 m/s

● Wave speed = wavelength / period

 wavelength = wave speed * period
wavelength = 12.48 m/s * 8 s
wavelength = 99.84 m

● Shallow water wave speed = 3.1 *

SW wave speed = 3.1 * sqrt(12 m)
SW wave speed = 10.74 m/s

SW wave speed = 3.1 * sqrt(4 m)

SW wave speed = 6.2 m/s

● One meter wave speed

SW wave speed = 3.1 * sqrt(1 m)
SW wave speed = 3.1 m/s