SLO 3

Tides

Tides are formed due to the gravitational pull of the moon, the earth's rotation, and wind. The sun, moon, and earth are connected physically through their mutual gravitational pull. The sun provides the earth with heat, vitamins, and such. The moon provides cooler weather during the night and some waves. Spring tides are tides that occur after a full moon. Due to the gravitational pull, the low tides become lower and the high tides become higher. A neap tide occurs when the sun and the moon's gravitational pull are pulling in two opposite directions due to them being at a specific angle. Neap tides cause low tides. A prevalent tidal pattern is diurnal, with one high and low tide each day; semi-diurnal, with two high and low tides each day; and mixed, with two high and low tides each day. Tides are affected by the shape of a basin because the more narrow the basin is, the less room there is for it to gain momentum The tide has more room to grow when the basin is larger. Surprisingly, tides can be used to generate power. When the tides move up and down, they create kinetic energy, which can be used to turn a turbine or waterwheel.

Waves

Waves occur due to the energy that goes through the water, it results in motion that moves in a recurring circle, wind can also help move the water around. The energy from the ocean comes from the gravitational pull and the heat from sunlight. A wave train has more than one wave that is almost the same wavelength. When the winds are moving at a constant rate, the wave ends up synchronizing, which forms a wave train. When a wave train hits shallow water, it will inevitably hit the sea floor, which will end up slowing the waves down due to friction. Waves can overlap depending on where they overlap and can affect whether or not they're going to increase or decrease (crest = increase, trough = decrease). Internal waves are waves that occur below the surface of the water. They transfer and move heat and energy through the ocean. They are formed by warm water underneath the surface of the cold water, which is why tides going back and forth against a ridge usually have to take place. Internal waves form when the water has different densities. Among normal waves, there are some unique ones such as rogue, seiche, storm surges, and tsunamis. A rogue wave is a large and unpredictable wave that forms in deep waters and is caused by strong winds and currents. A seiche wave is a very tall, curved wave that is almost like a tsunami in deeper water and is confined to just the ocean. They occur when the winds and atmospheric pressure change or stop and the water is still moving. Storm surges are when a large amount of water is brought to land via storms, which usually results in flooding. It is caused by severe hurricanes. Finally, tsunamis are a type of wave with a massive wavelength. The wave recedes into the ocean, picks up momentum, and gradually falls back down, flooding the nearby towns.