Tsunamis deliver a catastrophic blow to observers at the beach as the water in the trough in front of it is drawn back toward the tsunami wave, exposing the seafloor. This is called the tsunami runup, which destroys structures far inland. The massive wave may sweep inland well beyond the beach. Wave height builds up and the wave strikes the shore as a wall of water a hundred or more feet high. But as the wave train approaches the shore, each wave makes contact with the shallow seafloor, friction increases, and the wave slows down. Tsunamis may pass unnoticed in the open ocean because the wavelength is very long and the wave height is very low. The water is suddenly lifted and a wave train spreads out in all directions from the mound carrying enormous energy and traveling very fast (hundreds of miles per hour). Such waves are called tsunamis and, in the case of earthquakes, are created when a portion of the seafloor is suddenly elevated by movement in the crustal rocks below that are involved in the earthquake. This causes the wave to increase in height.Ī special type of wave is generated by any energetic event affecting the seafloor, such as earthquakes, submarine landslides, and volcanic eruptions. The waves here occur at a height of 7 to 14 meters.\): All waves, like tsunamis, slow down as they reach shallow water. Volcanoes, landslides, meteors are other underwater explosions that cause huge destructive waves.ĭid you know that the largest waves on earth occur in the Indian Ocean? This happens because, in this region, the winds blow in the same direction at a constant speed. Earthquakes under the surface of the ocean cause huge waves like the Tsunami. Underwater explosions: This is another reason why waves are formed. In this case the tides are almost 20% higher than normal days. This is due to the constant moving and spinning of the earth, which makes ocean water fall off the earth, but it is held due to gravity.Įxtreme tides occur when the moon, earth and the sun are perfectly aligned, in one straight line. The other part of the earth where the moon isn’t close, water levels go down and thus a low tide is formed.Įvery day the earth experiences two high tides and two low tides. This forces the ocean waters to rise and brings the waves closer to the banks. When the moon is closer to one side of the earth, it pulls the ocean water towards it. The moon’s gravity pulls the ocean water on the earth, causing waves to sway up and down. The moon and earth are like magnets that pull towards each other. It is gravity that helps the water stay in its place. The earth does not have the potential to hold so much ocean water because of its movement. Tidal waves: Tidal waves are wind waves but they are larger and higher and occur due to the gravitational pull between the earth, moon and the sun. The stronger the wind the larger the waves. The energy from the wind is transferred to the water, thus forming ripples in lakes and waves in oceans. When the wind comes in contact with the surface water, there is friction between air molecules and water molecules. Wind waves: These are the most common type of waves that we see. Ocean waves are also formed by wind blowing across the surface of ocean water. Ocean waves are formed with the contact between the earth, moon and the sun. But have you ever wondered how these tiny and sometimes huge waves are formed? Let us take a look. Water in the oceans is moving constantly in the form of waves. Oceans form a large part of the earth, covering 71% of the earth’s surface.
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