There are two principal types of currents that occur in our oceans: surface currents, which usually have a depth of several hundred meters and are driven by global wind patterns, and deep currents, which move slowly at greater depths beneath the ocean surface and are driven primarily by differences in water density.

Part 1: Shallow Water Waves

Objective: Students will understand the behavior of shallow water waves in a simulated laboratory environment, at various water depths.

Aside from the currents driven by seismic activity, a majority of the wave activity we see on the surface of lakes and oceans are driven by wind. Wind-generated waves represent mechanical energy that has been transferred to the surface of water. The size of a wind-generated wave is determined by a few major factors - the velocity of the wind, the length of time the wind is blowing and the distance over which the wind has been in contact with the surface of the water (referred to as fetch).

Regardless of wave type, all waves have some basic features in common. The "anatomy" of a wave consists of the crest, which is the "peak" or highest point of a wave, the trough, which is the "valley" or lowest point of a wave, the wavelength, which is the distance between two successive crests or troughs, the wave height, which is the vertical distance between the crest and trough, the wave period, which is the time required for two successive points of waves (two crests or two troughs) to pass a fixed point, and the amplitude, which is the vertical distance between the baseline (sea level) and a crest or a trough.

Xblock of woodPARTS OF A WAVE WAVE CREST WAVE LENGTH AMPLITUDE WAVE SEA LEVEL - HEIGHT WAVE TROUGH SECOORA