Ocean surface wave facts for kids

Breaking waves at Children's Pool, in La Jolla, CA.

Ocean surface waves are surface waves that occur in the upper layer of the ocean. They usually result from wind or geologic effects like earthquakes or vulcanicity and may travel thousands of miles before striking land. They range in size from small ripples to huge tsunamis. There is little actual forward motion of individual water particles in an unbroken wave, despite the large amount of energy and momentum it may carry forward.

Wave formation

The phases of an ocean surface wave: 1. Wave Crest, where the water masses of the surface layer are moving horizontally in the same direction as the propagating wave front. 2. Falling wave. 3. Trough, where the water masses of the surface layer are moving horizontally in the opposite direction of the wave front direction. 4. Rising wave.

The great majority of large breakers one sees on an ocean beach result from distant winds. Three factors influence the formation of "wind waves":

• Wind speed
• Distance of open water that the wind has blown over
• Length of time the wind has blown over a given area.

All of these factors work together to determine the size and shape of ocean waves. The greater each of the variables, the larger the waves. Waves are measured by:

• Height (from trough to crest)
• Wavelength (from crest to crest)
• Period (time interval between arrival of consecutive crests at a stationary point)

Waves in a given area typically have a range of sizes. For weather reporting and for scientific analysis of wind wave statistics, their size over a period of time is usually expressed as "significant wave height." This figure represents the average height of the highest one-third of the waves in a given time period (usually twelve hours) or in a specific wave or storm system. Given the variability of wave size, the largest individual waves are likely to be twice the reported significant wave height for a particular day or storm.

Images for kids

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  A man standing next to large ocean waves at Porto Covo, Portugal

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  Aspects of a water wave
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  Wave formation
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  Water particle motion of a deep water wave
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  NOAA ship Delaware II in bad weather on Georges Bank

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  Surf on a rocky irregular bottom. Porto Covo, west coast of Portugal

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  Waves create ripple marks in beaches.

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  Large wave breaking

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  Giant ocean wave
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  Photograph of the water particle orbits under a – progressive and periodic – surface gravity wave in a wave flume. The wave conditions are: mean water depth d = 2.50 ft (0.76 m), wave height H = 0.339 ft (0.103 m), wavelength λ = 6.42 ft (1.96 m), period T = 1.12 s.

See also

In Spanish: Ola para niños