• Identify the generating force of different waves
• Describe the factors that influence wind wave development
• Describe the basic properties of deep and shallow water waves
• Calculate the speed of a wave

– seismic activity from subduction zones
– Tidal forces from gravity
– Impacts from space

• Waves represent transmission of energy
• In fact, in the deep ocean, water moves in circles rather than toward shore.

• The image below shows the ‘anatomy’ of a wave

• CREST: peak of a wave
• TROUGH: ‘bottom’ of the wave
• WAVELENGTH (L): distance between two successive crests (or troughs) in meters.
• WAVE HEIGHT (H): vertical distance between the crest and trough of a wave, in meters.
• WAVE PERIOD (T): amount of time (in seconds) that it takes for one wave to pass.

• WAVE BASE: water depth at which you can’t feel the effect of the wave anymore.

• Wave base = L/2
• If the wavelength of a wave is 200m, what is the wave base? 200/2 = 100m

• Wave base distinguishes between ‘deep water waves’, and ‘shallow water waves’.
• Deep water wave travels = open ocean?
• Shallow water waves = close to the coast
• A tsunami is a shallow water wave everywhere in the ocean – even traveling in the deepest parts of the

• http://www.montereyinstitute.org/noaa/lesso n09.html
• Answer the questions on the lined page.

• Waves are classified as deep water, intermediate, or shallow water waves.
• Depends on water depth and wavelength
• Deep water wave
– travels in water that is deep enough that it won’t feel the effect of the bottom
– in other words, it travels in water that is deeper than its base.
– If a wave travels in water that is deeper than L/2, it is a deep water wave.
• Intermediate water wave
– Once the wave gets closer to shore and ‘feels’ the seabed – that is, in water depths less than L/2 – it becomes an ‘intermediate’ wave.
– The motion of the water is disrupted- rather than carving out lovely circular orbits, the friction between the water and the seabed causes the orbits to become more oval in shape.
• Shallow water wave
– Encounters water is that is shallower than its wavelength divided by 20.
– This is where the water molecules begin to move essentially back and forth
(↔), rather than in an orbital motion.

• TO SUMMARIZE AND REVIEW
• A deep water wave is one that travels in water that is ____________ (less than, greater than)
L/2.
• An intermediate wave travels in water that is
____________ (less than, greater than) L/2, but
____________ (less than, greater than) L/20.
• A shallow water wave is one that travels in water that is ____________ (less than, greater than)
L/20.

• Formula to calculate wave speed is different for deep or shallow water waves.
• The full formula to calculate the speed, or ‘celerity’
(C) of an ocean wave is:
__________________
C=√(gL/2π*tanh(2πd/L))
• It’s not as bad as it looks, we can simplify this if we know what type it is.

• For a deep water wave the equation becomes:
(1) C=1.25√L OR
(2) C= 1.56T
• So if we know that we have a deep water wave, then we can calculate speed simply by knowing the wavelength (equation 1) or the wave period
(equation 2). Other formulae that are worth knowing for deep water waves:
(3) L = 1.56T 2
(4) T = √L ÷1.25

• For a shallow water wave the equation becomes:
(5) C = 3.13*√d
• Other useful equations for shallow water waves:
(6) L = T * 3.13√d _
(7) T = L ÷ (3.13*√d)
• Note that these equations are only valid for wavelength in meters, depth in meters, wave period is seconds, and speed in meters per second.

• There’s no reason for you to memorize any of these equations, but you do need to be able to use them.
• Let’s get some practice. Try the Wave Speed
Worksheet.