Breaking of waves
Also called: Surf · Topic: Movements of Ocean Water: Waves, Tides and Currents · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 13 "Movements of Ocean Water"
Meaning
Breaking of waves is what happens when a wave reaches shallow water near the shore and collapses. Out at sea, a wave moves freely. Near the coast, friction with the sea floor slows down its lower part, while the top keeps moving. The wave becomes taller and steeper. When the water depth falls below about half the wavelength (the distance from one crest to the next), the crest tips over and crashes as surf, the white, foaming water on a beach. Breaking waves release their energy on the coast, and this energy shapes beaches and cliffs.
Example
On Marina Beach in Chennai, on the Bay of Bengal coast, waves steepen and break as surf as they run over the gently sloping sandy floor.
Don't confuse with
- Tidal bore: a wall of water that rushes up a river when a strong tide is pushed into a narrowing estuary. A breaking wave is a wind-driven wave collapsing on a beach.
Related concepts
- Wave
- Orbital motion of water particles
- Fetch
- Wave height
- Wavelength
- Swell
- Longshore drift
- Kallakkadal