Waves Flashcards
(13 cards)
What creates waves?
Waves are created when wind travels over a body of water for a period of time (the fetch)
What factors influence wave energy.
1) The strength of the wind
2) The volume of the water
3) How long the wind travels over the water
What are the characteristics of constructive waves?
The swash brings debris out of the water and onto the beach.
What are the characteristics of destructive waves?
The backwash moves debris and sediments off of the beach and back into the sea
What are the four erosional processes?
1) Hydraulic action
2) Abrasion
3) Attrition
4) Solution
What is hydraulic action?
Hydraulic action is when strong waves hit the cliff face breaking chunks of rock off of them
What is Abrasion?
Abrasion is when the waves throw rock and sediment at the cliff face chipping it away
What is Attrition?
Attrition is when waves cause rocks and pebbles to smash into each other making them smaller and more round
What is solution?
Solution is when weak acids in sea water (caused through the transpiration of plants) will slowly
dissolve certain types of rock such as chalk and limestone as they contain calcium
carbonate
How does the strength of the wind impact the waves
The stronger the wind the stronger the wave
How does the amount of water impact the wave?
The more water the larger the wave
How does the period of time affect the wave?
The longer the wind travels over a body of water the larger the wave
What are waves?
Waves
