Coastal engineering - Assignment Example

This has brought about constant developments and maintenance of the coastal zone to guard against flooding, erosion, and sediment transport. Waves have a major influence on the marine environment and ultimately on the planets climate. Waves travel effortlessly along the waters surface. This is made possible by small movements of the water molecules. The wind blows over the water, changing its surface into ripples and waves. As waves grow in height, the wind pushes them along faster and higher.

Waves can become unexpectedly strong and destructive. As waves enter shallow water, they become taller and slow down, eventually breaking on the shore.  Waves have crests (the peak of the wave) and troughs (the lowest point on the wave). The wavelength, or horizontal size of the wave, is determined by the horizontal distance between two crests or two troughs. The vertical size of the wave is determined by the vertical distance between the two. Waves travel in groups called wave trains. Waves vary in size and strength based on wind speed and friction on the water’s.

The small wave trains created by a boat’s movement on the water are called wake. High winds and storms can generate large groups of wave trains with enormous energy. Undersea earthquakes or other sharp motions in the seafloor can sometimes generate enormous waves, called tsunamis (inappropriately known as tidal waves) that can devastate entire coastlines. Regular patterns of smooth, rounded waves in the open ocean are called swells. In waves, it appears the water is moving forward, but only a small amount of water is actually moving.

It is the wave’s energy that is moving and since water is a flexible medium for energy transfer, it looks like the water itself is moving. In the open ocean, the friction moving the waves generates energy within the water. This energy is then passed between water molecules in ripples