🌊 WAVES: HOW THEY FORM
PAGE 1 OF 5, ENERGY RIDES THE WATER
ENERGY
WAVES MOVE ENERGY, NOT WHOLE OCEANS
A wave looks like a wall of water racing toward the beach. What mostly travels is energy. Tiny bits of water bob up, forward, down, and back in little circles. When the energy has passed, each bit ends up almost where it started. That is why a floating leaf rises and falls in the swell but barely drifts with the crest.
⚡ DID YOU KNOW?
Think of a crowd doing the wave at a stadium. Fans stand and sit, but nobody runs across the stands. Ocean waves work a lot like that cheer.
BOUNCE!
WIND
💨 Wind rubs the sea surface and hands energy to the water, starting tiny ripples.
🌊 Stronger, longer winds turn those ripples into taller open-ocean waves.
🌊 Stronger, longer winds turn those ripples into taller open-ocean waves.
FETCH
📏 Fetch is how far the wind blows across open water without hitting land.
⏱️ Duration and wind strength matter too: longer, harder blows build bigger waves.
⏱️ Duration and wind strength matter too: longer, harder blows build bigger waves.