Waves - Water on the Move

1.     Waves are formed in three stages by the action of the wind blowing across the ocean. First the wind forms ripples, then these form wavelets and finally waves.

2.    The fetch is the distance the wind travels over the ocean to form a wave. It is an important factor in determining the size and speed of a wave as it is influenced by the strength of the wind and the length of the fetch.

3.    Waves in the open waves cause things to move in an up and down motion only and tend to be contained and have a longer wavelength. Waves closer to the shore interact with the sea floor causing the speed to decrease, the wavelength to decrease and the top of the wave to travel faster than the base, cracking the wave.

4.    

5.     

                     

6.    Spilling Waves: These are fairly light waves which break far from the shore on beaches with gentle slopes.

Plunging Waves: Break on beaches where the slope is moderately steep. These are waves which create tubes for surfers to surf in.

Surging Waves: Occur on very steep beaches. The waves role up the steep face rather than breaking over it. They cause erosion.

7.    Wind Swell: Marked by a short wavelength and high frequency of waves hitting the coast.

Ground Swell: Has a longer wavelength and the waves hit the coast less frequently.

8.    Dear Tourist,

How are you enjoying the beaches? The three types of waves you have to look out for are:

Surging Waves – Don’t worry these are harmless and are found in very deep beach slopes with little waves.

Spilling Waves – These are slightly stronger than Surging Waves and are found in very shallow waters which break far from the coast.

Plunging Waves – These are very strong so be careful. These are found in moderately steep waters which cause tubes where surfers surf.

So have fun and enjoy your time in Australia!

9.    Today was reasonably quiet and started off sunny. In the morning the beach was reasonably well covered by people as it was very sunny and hot. By around mid-day, the sky had darkened and clouds had begun to cover the sun. Most people left except the surfers as they wanted to pick up the storms waves. The wind, wave height and length had increased significantly by the early afternoon creating a few ground swells, forcing me to move the red and yellow flags to areas non-affected. By 3:00, rain and lightning was spotted in the distance and was forced to close the beach. A cyclone had begun to form in the distance.