WAVE

CLASSIFICATION
AND WAVE
PROPERTIES:
STORM SURGE, TIDES, SEASONAL AND
LONG-TERM FLUCTUATIONS
 Mechanical Waves

Wave

Electromagnetic
Waves
 Mechanical Waves
• disturbances in any medium or substance
• transfers energy through a medium
 Electromagnetic Waves
• disturbances or oscillations in electrical and magnetic fields
• can travel not only through air and solid materials, but also through the vacuum of space.
Types Of Mechanical Waves

• Internal Waves
• Tidal Waves
• Tsunamis
• Storm Surges
• Splash Waves
• Atmospheric Waves
• Wind Waves and Swells
Internal Waves
• form at the boundaries of water masses of different densities
(i.e., at a pycnocline), and propagate at depth.
• These generally move more slowly than surface waves, and can
be much larger, with heights exceeding 100 m.
Tidal Waves
• due to the movement of the tides.
• Tides are generated due to the combined effect of the Earth’s
rotation and the gravitational attraction from the Moon and
the Sun.
• The period of tides is between 12 and 24 hours, and their
wavelength is in the order of hundred to thousand kilometres.
Tsunami Waves
• large waves created as a result of earthquakes or other seismic
disturbances.
• Seismic Sea Waves
• Their wave period is between 1 and 20 minutes, and their
wavelength is between a few to hundreds of kilometers
Storm Surges
• slightly shorter waves than tides, with periods of 1 or 2 days
and wavelengths of a few hundred kilometres.
• These are generated by large-scale atmospheric systems or
storms, characterized by low pressures and strong sustained
winds.
Splash Waves
• formed when something falls into the ocean and creates a
splash.
Atmospheric Waves
• form in the sky at the boundary between air masses of
different densities.
• These often create ripple effects in the clouds.
Wind waves and swells
• wave type with periods lower than 20 seconds. The wind-
generated waves with periods larger than 0.25 seconds are
known as surface gravity waves
• When generated by local winds, they are irregular and short-
crested and are known as wind sea.
Components to a Basic Wave
 Components to a Basic Wave
• Still water level: where the water surface would be if there were no waves
present and the sea was completely calm.
• Crest: the highest point of the wave.
• Trough: the lowest point of the wave.
• Wave height: the distance between the crest and the trough.
• Wavelength: the distance between two identical points on successive waves,
for example crest to crest, or trough to trough.
• Wave steepness: the ratio of wave height to length (H/L). If this ratio exceeds
1/7 (i.e. height exceeds 1/7 of the wavelength) the wave gets too steep, and
will break.
 Components to a Basic Wave
• Period: the time it takes for two successive crests to pass a given point.
• Frequency: the number of waves passing a point in a given amount of time,
usually expressed as waves per second. This is the inverse of the period.
• Speed: how fast the wave travels, or the distance travelled per unit of time.
This is also called Celerity (c), where;
c = wavelength x frequency
Sea Levels
• The total volume of the ocean can change as a result of changes in
ocean mass (addition of water to the ocean from the land) or
expansion/contraction of the ocean water as it warms/cools
 SHORT
TERM

Sea
Level SEASONAL

Rise
LONG
TERM
The End