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Breaking swell waves at Hermosa Beach, California. A swell, also sometimes referred to as ground swell, in the context of an ocean, sea or lake, is a series of mechanical waves that propagate along the interface between water and air under the predominating influence of gravity, and thus are often referred to as surface gravity waves.
It was Harold Jeffreys [4] in 1925 who was the first to produce a plausible explanation for the phase shift between the water surface and the atmospheric pressure which can give rise to an energy flux between the air and the water. For the waves to grow, a higher pressure on the windward side of the wave, in comparison to the leeward side, is ...
A thermocline (also known as the thermal layer or the metalimnion in lakes) is a distinct layer based on temperature within a large body of fluid (e.g. water, as in an ocean or lake; or air, e.g. an atmosphere) with a high gradient of distinct temperature differences associated with depth.
Sea of fog riding the coastal marine layer through the Golden Gate Bridge at San Francisco, California Afternoon smog within a coastal marine layer in West Los Angeles. A marine layer is an air mass that develops over the surface of a large body of water, such as an ocean or large lake, in the presence of a temperature inversion.
As the ratio of wave amplitude to water depth becomes such that the wave “feels the bottom,” water at the base of the wave slows down due to friction with the sea floor. This causes the wave to become asymmetrical and the face of the wave to steepen, and finally the wave will break, propagating forward as an internal bore.
When waves travel into areas of shallow water, they begin to be affected by the ocean bottom. [1] The free orbital motion of the water is disrupted, and water particles in orbital motion no longer return to their original position. As the water becomes shallower, the swell becomes higher and steeper, ultimately assuming the familiar sharp ...
The friction between air and water caused by a gentle breeze on a pond causes ripples to form. A stronger gust blowing over the ocean causes larger waves as the moving air pushes against the raised ridges of water. The waves reach their maximum height when the rate at which they are travelling nearly matches the speed of the wind.
Surface water is, however, high in oxygen compared to the deep ocean due to photosynthesis and air-sea gas exchange. When water is moved downwards, oxygen is pumped below the surface, where it is used by decaying organisms. [3] Downwelling events are accompanied by low primary production in the surface ocean due to a lack of nutrient supply ...