Nt1310 Unit 1 Assignment
Option 1 Ocean waves are caused by many different factors. Usually waves are created by the wind; the wind transfers its energy to the water, through friction between the air molecules and the water molecules. The stronger the winds, the stronger the waves. Water waves usually do not go horizontally, they only move up and down. Some factors that also cause waves are tsunamis, earthquakes, and hurricanes. Surprisingly, wind speeds, the distance over which the winds blow, and the time that the winds are in contact with the water all determine the height and speed of the wave. Waves can travel thousands of miles from their source of “origin”. But it’s not the water moving, it’s the energy. As a wave approaches shore, friction between the bottom of the wave and the
…show more content…
seafloor also affects its motion. The wave rises with the slope of the sea bottom. Because the wave’s top moves faster than its bottom, it begins to curl, break and collapse. There are three different kinds of waves, surging breakers, plunging breakers, and spilling breakers. Each are created differently, with different types of energy put in. Surging breakers are steep slopes that do not cause waves to break, but rather roll onto the beach, and they can become quite destructive because waves have their full energy in this. Plunging breakers are moderate slopes that can cause waves to curl into tunnels as they break, and these are the ones surfers usually like. Spilling breakers are shallow slopes caused by waves to break far from shore, the surf rolls over the front of a spilling breaker as it moves far up the beach. Although wind causes waves, occasionally an offshore earthquake, landslide or volcanic eruption can create a wave called tsunami. The events displace water and cause waves with long wavelengths. Tsunamis have more energy than typical wind-caused waves and can become way more destructive. Ocean water and currents affect the climate surprisingly. Because it takes far more energy to change the temperature of water than land or air, water warms up and cools off much more slowly than either. As a result, inland climates are subject to more extreme temperature ranges than coastal climates, which are insulated by nearby water. Also, more than half the heat that reaches the earth from the sun is absorbed by the ocean’s surface layer, so surface currents more a lot of heat. Currents that originate near the equator are warm; currents that flow from the poles are cold. The prevailing winds are the major cause of the ocean waters moving in a definite direction. The pushing action of these winds makes the waters flow as they do.
All currents in the northern hemisphere move in a clockwise direction, while in the southern hemisphere they move in an anti-clockwise direction. Suprisngly landmasses can be responsible for changing the course of a current. Differences in temperature and salinity are also responsible for the movement of ocean water. In the equatorial region, ocean water gets more heated than in the cold polar regions. This makes the water “light”. Water in the polar regions is cold and heavy, so it sinks and flows towards the equator. The light upper layers of water are thus forced to move towards the poles where they get cooled. Some effects are winds blowing. Winds blowing over a warm current can become warm, and at the same time, pick up moisture, as warm winds are able to retain more moisture. Therefore, the wind that reaches the land brings down the temperature and can cause heavy rain. The western coast of Europe for example, is one. Winds blow cold and dry air. They help to bring down the temperatures in places, which would have been much hotter. The California current which is cold, which flows along the western coast of the U.S, makes the region much cooler than other places in the west coast on
the same area. Places where cold and warm currents meet are ideal for the growth of Plankton. These are food for fish, which support the ocean. Currents in a way direct the fish in a certain direction, giving fishermen a huge load of fish. Currents can also come with fog, and dangerous currents due to the wind.
seafloor also affects its motion. The wave rises with the slope of the sea bottom. Because the wave’s top moves faster than its bottom, it begins to curl, break and collapse. There are three different kinds of waves, surging breakers, plunging breakers, and spilling breakers. Each are created differently, with different types of energy put in. Surging breakers are steep slopes that do not cause waves to break, but rather roll onto the beach, and they can become quite destructive because waves have their full energy in this. Plunging breakers are moderate slopes that can cause waves to curl into tunnels as they break, and these are the ones surfers usually like. Spilling breakers are shallow slopes caused by waves to break far from shore, the surf rolls over the front of a spilling breaker as it moves far up the beach. Although wind causes waves, occasionally an offshore earthquake, landslide or volcanic eruption can create a wave called tsunami. The events displace water and cause waves with long wavelengths. Tsunamis have more energy than typical wind-caused waves and can become way more destructive. Ocean water and currents affect the climate surprisingly. Because it takes far more energy to change the temperature of water than land or air, water warms up and cools off much more slowly than either. As a result, inland climates are subject to more extreme temperature ranges than coastal climates, which are insulated by nearby water. Also, more than half the heat that reaches the earth from the sun is absorbed by the ocean’s surface layer, so surface currents more a lot of heat. Currents that originate near the equator are warm; currents that flow from the poles are cold. The prevailing winds are the major cause of the ocean waters moving in a definite direction. The pushing action of these winds makes the waters flow as they do.
All currents in the northern hemisphere move in a clockwise direction, while in the southern hemisphere they move in an anti-clockwise direction. Suprisngly landmasses can be responsible for changing the course of a current. Differences in temperature and salinity are also responsible for the movement of ocean water. In the equatorial region, ocean water gets more heated than in the cold polar regions. This makes the water “light”. Water in the polar regions is cold and heavy, so it sinks and flows towards the equator. The light upper layers of water are thus forced to move towards the poles where they get cooled. Some effects are winds blowing. Winds blowing over a warm current can become warm, and at the same time, pick up moisture, as warm winds are able to retain more moisture. Therefore, the wind that reaches the land brings down the temperature and can cause heavy rain. The western coast of Europe for example, is one. Winds blow cold and dry air. They help to bring down the temperatures in places, which would have been much hotter. The California current which is cold, which flows along the western coast of the U.S, makes the region much cooler than other places in the west coast on
the same area. Places where cold and warm currents meet are ideal for the growth of Plankton. These are food for fish, which support the ocean. Currents in a way direct the fish in a certain direction, giving fishermen a huge load of fish. Currents can also come with fog, and dangerous currents due to the wind.