Image: Shallow water wave

Description: Stokes drift in shallow water waves, with a wavelength much longer than the water depth. The ratio of wave height to water depth is H/h=0.60, and the ratio of wavelength to water depth is λ/h=12.0. Description of the animation: The red circles are the present positions of massless particles, moving with the flow velocity. The light-blue line gives the path of these particles, and the light-blue circles the particle position after each wave period. The white dots are fluid particles, also followed in time. In the case shown here, the mean Eulerian horizontal velocity below the wave trough is zero. Observe that the wave period, experienced by a fluid particle near the free surface, is different from the wave period at a fixed horizontal position (as indicated by the light-blue circles). This is due to the Doppler shift.
Title: Shallow water wave
Credit: Own work
Author: Kraaiennest
Usage Terms: GNU Free Documentation License
License: GFDL
License Link: http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html
Attribution Required?: Yes