Final Exam Flashcards
(205 cards)
1
Q
What is a wave?
A
An alternating rise and fall of a portion of the water surface or of a density boundary within the water column
2
Q
What are progressive waves?
A
a type of wave that moves forward across the water from the area in which it was formed
3
Q
What are standing waves?
A
Waves that appear stationary, formed by the interference of two waves traveling in opposite directions.
4
Q
What is a crest?
A
The highest point of a wave.
5
Q
What is a trough?
A
The lowest point of a wave.
6
Q
What is wavelength?
A
The horizontal distance between two successive crests or troughs.
7
Q
What is a wave front?
A
The leading edge of a wave.
8
Q
What is wave height?
A
The vertical distance between a wave’s crest and its trough.
9
Q
What is wave period?
A
the amount of time required for one wave length to pass a fixed point
10
Q
What is wave celerity?
A
the velocity with which a wave form travels
11
Q
What is wave stability?
A
the ratio of wave height to wave length
12
Q
What is hypo-equilibrium?
A
A state where a wave or system has less energy than the equilibrium condition.
13
Q
What is hyper-equilibrium?
A
A state where a wave or system has more energy than the equilibrium condition.
14
Q
What is a deep-water wave?
A
A wave in water deeper than half its wavelength.
15
Q
What is mass transport?
A
The net movement of water caused by wave motion.
16
Q
What are orbits in wave motion?
A
The circular or elliptical paths water particles follow as a wave passes.
17
Q
What is a shallow-water wave?
A
A wave in water shallower than 1/20th of its wavelength.
18
Q
What is wave base?
A
The depth at which wave motion is no longer felt, usually half the wavelength.
19
Q
What is wave energy?
A
The energy a wave carries, consisting of potential and kinetic energy.
20
Q
What is potential energy in waves?
A
Energy stored due to the wave’s elevation above the average sea level.
21
Q
What is kinetic energy in waves?
A
Energy due to the motion of water particles within a wave.
22
Q
What are capillary waves?
A
Very small waves caused by wind and held together by surface tension.
23
Q
What is surface tension?
A
The cohesive force at the surface of a liquid that resists external force.
24
Q
What are medium waves?
A
Intermediate-sized waves between capillary and large waves.
25
What are large waves?
High-energy waves typically generated by strong winds or storms.
26
What is a wave train?
A group of waves traveling together with similar characteristics.
27
What is wave dispersion?
The process by which waves separate based on wavelength and speed.
28
What is wave reflection?
when a wave rebounds off a steep shore or vertical wall
29
What is wave refraction?
The bending of waves into an area where they travel slower
30
What is wave interference?
The interaction between waves that can amplify or cancel each other.
31
What are seas?
Waves in a storm area, usually chaotic and irregular.
32
What does in-phase mean?
When waves align crest to crest, reinforcing each other.
33
What is a giant wave or rogue wave?
An unusually large and spontaneous ocean wave.
34
What does out-of-phase mean?
When a crest aligns with a trough, weakening the overall wave.
35
What is a headland?
land that extends out into the sea as a peninsula
36
What is a breaking wave (breaker)?
A wave that collapses when it reaches shallow water.
37
What is undertow?
A subsurface current that flows offshore when waves break onshore.
38
What is surf?
The area where waves break near the shore.
39
What is wave setup?
The increase in water level caused by onshore wave action.
40
What is a longshore current?
A current that moves parallel to the shore, generated by angled waves.
41
What is a rip current?
A strong, narrow current moving seaward from the shore.
42
What is fetch?
The distance over which wind blows across open water to generate waves.
43
What are old seas?
The remnants of waves from a distant storm, often disorganized.
44
What is chop?
Short, irregular waves formed by local winds.
45
What is a white cap?
A wave crest (highest point) that has broken and is capped with white foam.
46
What is a fully developed sea?
When waves reach maximum size for a given wind speed, duration, and fetch.
47
What is swell?
Long, smooth waves formed by distant weather systems.
48
What are landslide waves?
Waves generated by underwater or coastal landslides.
49
What is a seismic sea wave?
Another term for a tsunami, caused by undersea earthquakes.
50
What is an impact wave?
A wave caused by a sudden force, like a meteor or landslide hitting water.
51
What is an explosion wave?
A wave caused by an underwater or surface explosion.
52
What is a tsunami?
A series of long waves caused by seismic activity, landslides, or volcanic eruptions.
53
What is a tidal wave?
An outdated term for tsunami; sometimes used to refer to actual tides.
54
What is an internal wave?
A wave that forms within the ocean at the boundary between water layers of different densities.
55
What are seiches?
a type of wave that remains where they are produced and appear as a rocking back and forth (up and down) of a large portion of the water surface or boundary layer
56
What is a stationary wave?
Another term for standing wave; remains fixed in space.
57
What are nodes and antinodes?
A node is where no movement occurs in a standing wave; an antinode is where motion is greatest.
58
What is a rotary seiche?
A rotating standing wave pattern in large, enclosed water bodies due to Coriolis effect.
59
What is the period of a seiche?
The time it takes for a complete oscillation of a seiche wave.
60
What is resonance?
When wave frequency matches the natural frequency of a basin, amplifying wave height.
61
What is dissonance?
A lack of resonance, resulting in lower wave amplitudes.
62
What is a tide?
The regular rise and fall of sea level due to gravitational forces from the moon and sun.
63
What is eustatic sea level change?
Global changes in sea level due to changes in ocean volume.
64
What is mean sea level?
The average sea level over a long period.
65
What is an astronomical tide?
Tides caused by gravitational interactions between the Earth, Moon, and Sun.
66
What is a meteorological tide?
Sea level changes caused by weather conditions like pressure and wind.
67
What is gravitational attraction?
The force pulling objects together; key to forming tides.
68
What is centrifugal force?
An apparent force pushing outward on a rotating object; contributes to tidal bulges.
69
What is the moon-Earth system?
The gravitational interaction between the Moon and Earth that drives tides.
70
What are high tide and low tide?
The highest and lowest levels of the ocean during the tidal cycle.
71
What are lunar tide and solar tide?
Tides primarily caused by the Moon (lunar) or the Sun (solar).
72
What is a barycenter?
The common center of mass around which the Earth and Moon orbit.
73
What are tidal currents?
Horizontal water movements caused by the rising and falling of tides.
74
What is flood tide and ebb tide?
Flood tide is the rising tide; ebb tide is the falling tide.
75
What is slack water?
The brief period between flood and ebb tides when water is still.
76
What is tidal range?
The vertical difference between high tide and low tide.
77
What is a spring tide?
The highest tidal range, occurring during full and new moons.
78
What is the phase of the moon?
The Moon’s shape as seen from Earth, affecting tidal forces.
79
What is a new moon?
When the Moon is between the Earth and Sun; results in spring tides.
80
What is a full moon?
When the Earth is between the Moon and Sun; also causes spring tides.
81
What is a neap tide?
The smallest tidal range, occurring during quarter moons.
82
What is a quarter moon?
When the Sun and Moon are at right angles; causes neap tides.
83
What is a lunar day?
A lunar day is the time between two moonrises, which is 24 hours and 50 minutes.
84
What is a solar day?
A solar day is the time between two successive noons, which is 24 hours.
85
What is declination?
Declination is the angle between the Moon or Sun and Earth’s equator; it affects tidal strength and location.
86
What is apogee?
Apogee is when the Moon is farthest from Earth.
87
What is perigee?
Perigee is when the Moon is closest to Earth.
88
What is the period of a basin?
The period of a basin is the natural oscillation time of a basin; it determines seiche frequency.
89
What is a tidal period?
The tidal period is the time between two successive high (or low) tides.
90
What is an amphidromic system?
An amphidromic system is a tidal system rotating around a point of zero amplitude, known as the amphidromic point.
91
What are cotidal lines?
Cotidal lines are lines on a map connecting points where high tide occurs at the same time.
92
What are corange circles?
Corange circles are lines connecting points of equal tidal range around an amphidromic point.
93
What is an amphidromic point?
The amphidromic point is the center of rotation in a tidal system where the tidal range is nearly zero.
94
What is a tidal curve?
A tidal curve is a graph showing the rise and fall of tide levels over time.
95
What is a semidiurnal tide?
A semidiurnal tide consists of two high and two low tides of similar height each day.
96
What is a diurnal tide?
A diurnal tide consists of one high tide and one low tide each day.
97
What is a mixed tide?
A mixed tide consists of two highs and two lows per day with significant height differences.
98
What are diurnal inequalities?
Diurnal inequalities are differences in the height or timing of successive high or low tides in a day.
99
What is high high water?
High high water is the higher of two high tides in a mixed tidal pattern.
100
What is low high water?
Low high water is the lower of two high tides in a mixed tidal pattern.
101
What is high low tide?
High low tide is the higher of the two low tides in a mixed tide.
102
What is low low tide?
Low low tide is the lower of the two low tides in a mixed tide.
103
What is a tidal bore?
A tidal bore is a strong surge of water traveling up a river or bay with the incoming tide.
104
What is a tide rip?
A tide rip is choppy water where opposing tidal currents meet.
105
What is a barometric tide?
A barometric tide refers to changes in sea level caused by atmospheric pressure changes.
106
What is wind set?
Wind set is a rise in sea level due to persistent wind pushing water toward the shore.
107
What is windward?
Windward is the direction from which the wind is blowing.
108
What is leeward?
Leeward is the direction sheltered from the wind; it is opposite of windward.
109
What are storm surges?
Storm surges are abnormal sea level rises caused by strong winds and low pressure during storms.
110
What is a cliffed coast?
A cliffed coast is a coast with steep, rocky cliffs formed by wave erosion.
111
What is a sea cliff?
A sea cliff is a vertical or steep face along a coast formed by erosion.
112
What are coves?
Coves are small, sheltered bays with narrow entrances.
113
What are bays?
Bays are broad coastal inlets, usually with calmer water than the open sea.
114
What are headlands?
Headlands are points of high land jutting into the sea; they erode faster due to wave focus.
115
What is a wave-eroded notch?
A wave-eroded notch is a hollow at the base of a sea cliff created by wave action.
116
What is a wave-eroded platform?
A wave-eroded platform is a flat, often rocky area left behind as cliffs erode.
117
What are sea arches?
Sea arches are natural rock bridges formed when waves erode through a headland.
118
What is a sea cave?
A sea cave is a hollow formed in a cliff face by the erosive action of waves.
119
What are sea stacks?
Sea stacks are isolated columns of rock left after a sea arch collapses.
120
What is a wave-deposited platform?
A wave-deposited platform is a flat area formed by accumulated sediment from waves.
121
What is a beach?
A beach is accumulated sand or gravel along a shoreline.
122
What is backshore?
Backshore is the dry upper part of a beach above the high tide line.
123
What are berms?
Berms are ridges of sand deposited by wave action on a beach.
124
What is a berm crest?
The berm crest is the top of a berm, marking the highest reach of regular wave action.
125
What is foreshore?
Foreshore is the area between high and low tide; it is covered and uncovered daily.
126
What is a beach face?
The beach face is the sloped section of the foreshore exposed to the swash of waves.
127
What is a low tide terrace?
A low tide terrace is a nearly flat part of the beach exposed at low tide.
128
What are swash marks?
Swash marks are lines of debris left by the back-and-forth motion of waves.
129
What is offshore?
Offshore refers to the deeper water area beyond the breaker zone.
130
What is a longshore trough?
A longshore trough is a depression parallel to the beach formed by wave action.
131
What is a longshore bar?
A longshore bar is a submerged ridge of sand parallel to the shore.
132
What is a beach profile?
A beach profile is a cross-sectional view showing the shape of a beach from dunes to offshore.
133
What are fair-weather beaches?
Fair-weather beaches are shaped by gentle waves; they are usually wider and flatter.
134
What is a swell profile?
A swell profile is a beach profile formed under calm conditions with distant wave influence.
135
What are foul-weather beaches?
Foul-weather beaches are shaped by storm waves; they are typically steeper and more eroded.
136
What is a storm profile?
A storm profile is a beach shape during or after storms, often narrower with eroded berms.
137
What is a sand (sediment) budget?
The sand (sediment) budget is the balance of sediment entering and leaving a coastal area.
138
What is a positive budget?
A positive budget occurs when more sediment is added than removed; the beach grows.
139
What is a negative budget?
A negative budget occurs when more sediment is lost than added; the beach erodes.
140
What is dynamic equilibrium?
Dynamic equilibrium is a stable beach profile where sediment input equals output.
141
What is the zone of swash?
The zone of swash is the area of the beach affected by wave wash and backwash.
142
What is longshore drift?
Longshore drift is the movement of sand along the coast due to angled waves.
143
What is beach migration?
Beach migration is the shifting of a beach landward or seaward due to sediment movement.
144
What is a spit?
A spit is a narrow extension of beach material into open water, formed by longshore drift.
145
What is a cuspate spit?
A cuspate spit is a spit with a pointed or triangular tip formed by opposing currents.
146
What is a hook?
A hook is a curved spit end due to changing wind or wave directions.
147
What is a cape?
A cape is a large landmass jutting into the sea, usually larger than a headland.
148
What is a baymouth bar?
A baymouth bar is a sandbar that completely closes off a bay from the ocean.
149
What is a barrier bar?
A barrier bar is a long, narrow sandbar running parallel to the coast, often offshore.
150
What is a tombolo?
A tombolo is a bar of sand or gravel connecting an island to the mainland or another island.
151
What is a barrier island?
A barrier island is a long, narrow island parallel to the mainland, formed by wave and tidal action.
152
What are tidal deltas?
Tidal deltas are deposits of sand and sediment formed at the mouths of tidal inlets.
153
What is a tidal channel?
A tidal channel is a waterway that allows tidal flow between the ocean and bays or lagoons.
154
What is a revetment?
A revetment is a sloped structure placed on banks or cliffs to absorb wave energy.
155
What is riprap?
Riprap consists of loose boulders or concrete blocks placed to prevent erosion.
156
What is a sea wall?
A sea wall is a solid wall built to prevent coastal erosion and flooding.
157
What is a refractive sea wall?
A refractive sea wall is designed to redirect wave energy.
158
What is a breaking sea wall?
A breaking sea wall causes waves to break before hitting the shore.
159
What is a bulkhead?
A bulkhead is a vertical retaining wall used to protect land from water.
160
What is a breakwater?
A breakwater is a structure offshore that protects the coast by breaking wave energy.
161
What are groins?
Groins are structures built perpendicular to the shore to trap sand moving along the coast.
162
What are permeable groins?
Permeable groins are groins that allow some water and sediment to pass through.
163
What are impermeable groins?
Impermeable groins are solid groins that block sand movement more completely.
164
What are jetties?
Jetties are structures at river mouths or inlets to prevent sediment buildup and aid navigation.
165
What are the parts and parameters of a wave?
Crest (top), trough (bottom), wave height (crest to trough), wavelength (distance between two crests or troughs), period (time between two crests), celerity (speed), and wave base (depth of wave motion).
166
What is the difference between progressive and standing waves?
Progressive waves move energy in one direction. Standing waves oscillate in place.
167
What distinguishes deep-water waves from shallow-water waves?
Deep-water waves occur in water deeper than 1/2 the wavelength. Shallow-water waves occur in depths less than 1/20 the wavelength and interact with the seafloor.
168
What is the significance of wave base?
Below the wave base, no wave motion occurs. It affects how waves refract, erode coastlines, and deposit sediments.
169
How does wave energy depletion occur?
Larger waves carry more energy. Energy is lost to bottom friction, breaking, and spreading.
170
What is celerity in relation to wave trains?
Faster waves move ahead, leading to sorting of wave groups (wave dispersion).
171
What is wave interference?
Occurs when waves overlap; can be constructive (amplifying) or destructive (dampening).
172
What changes occur to waves as they approach shore?
As waves approach shore, wavelength shortens, height increases, speed decreases, and they break.
173
What is wave setup and its effect on currents?
Piling of water near shore increases water level, drives longshore currents and rip currents.
174
How do wind-generated waves develop?
Capillary waves grow into larger waves with consistent wind.
175
What factors control wave height, length, and period?
Wind speed, duration, and fetch control height, length, and period.
176
How does wind transfer energy to waves?
Wind blows over the surface, transferring energy via friction.
177
What are special progressive waves?
Include tsunami, seismic waves, and explosion waves.
178
What is the difference between internal and surface waves?
Internal waves occur between water layers of different densities, move slower and deeper.
179
What are the parts of a seiche?
Node (no motion), antinode (max motion), caused by resonant oscillations in enclosed basins.
180
What is the significance of resonance in seiches?
Amplifies seiche motion when period of forcing matches natural period of the basin.
181
What causes astronomical and meteorological tides?
Astronomical tides are caused by Moon/Sun gravity. Meteorological tides are caused by winds and pressure.
182
How do Moon-Sun-Earth relationships affect tides?
Tides vary with positions; spring tides when aligned (new/full moon), neap tides at right angles (quarter moons).
183
How do moon phases relate to tides?
New/full = spring tides; quarter = neap tides.
184
What factors influence tidal range?
Moon/Sun position, Earth’s rotation, basin shape and depth.
185
How does basin shape influence tides?
Affects amplification, range, and resonance of tides.
186
What is the amphidromic system?
Tides rotate around a node (amphidromic point), with cotidal lines (equal tide time) and corange circles (equal tide range).
187
What are tidal curves?
Graphs of water level over time. Types: diurnal, semidiurnal, mixed.
188
What are tidal bores and rips?
Bores occur when tides surge into a river; rips from opposing tidal currents.
189
What is a barometric tide?
High pressure depresses sea level; low pressure raises it.
190
How do wind sets affect sea level?
Wind pushes water toward shore, raising sea level.
191
What are storm surges?
Rise in sea level from strong winds and low pressure in storms.
192
What features are found on cliffed coasts?
Sea cliffs, notches, platforms, caves, arches, stacks—formed by wave erosion.
193
What are the parts of a beach profile?
Backshore (dry), berms (ridges), foreshore (wet), beach face (slope), low tide terrace, offshore (beyond breakers).
194
What features are included in the beach face?
Includes swash marks, longshore bars and troughs.
195
What distinguishes fair-weather beaches from foul-weather beaches?
Fair-weather = gentle slope, wide berms. Foul-weather = steep slope, sediment pulled offshore.
196
What factors contribute to the sand budget?
Input/output of sediment by waves, rivers, and human activity. Positive = growth; negative = erosion.
197
What is longshore drift?
Movement of sand along shore by angled waves. Drives beach migration.
198
What are the features of beach migration?
Includes spits, hooks, baymouth bars, tombolos, barrier islands.
199
What is a revetment?
Sloped structure to reduce erosion.
200
What is riprap?
Loose rocks to absorb wave energy.
201
What is a sea wall?
Solid barrier to block waves.
202
What is a breakwater?
Offshore barrier to calm waves.
203
What are groins?
Perpendicular to shore to trap sand.
204
What are jetties?
Stabilize inlets and prevent sediment buildup.
205
What is a bulkhead?
Retaining wall to prevent land erosion.
