7.2 Waves: Water on the Move

The top left corner is the path of water particles. The top right is the surf zone (the peak is travelling faster than the base). The bottom left is deep water, the bottom is the shallow depth (the wavelength decreases, the wave height increases). The middle right is the beach.

At the top left are ripples, which chop waves. In the centre on the top are fully developed seas, and a changing to swell in on the top right. The wind is at the bottom left, the length of fetch at the very bottom and the direction of the waves on the right.

At the top is a spilling wave, which breaks far from the shore with gentle slope. In the middle is a plunging wave, which break on beaches where the slope is moderately steep - they form 'tubes' which are good for surfing. And at the bottom is a surging wave, which occurs on steep beaches and causes erosion.

At the top is Wavelength, at the tops of the waves are Crests, between the waves is Wave height and at the bottom is trough.