Wind Waves, General:

• Who is looking for the perfect wave?
• What are breaking waves a symbol of for most humans?
• What are the 3 factors that determine how large a wind wave will be?
• Define
  
• wavelength
  
• wave period
• wave velocity
• wave amplitude
  
• If the wind is not blowing in California will there be waves breaking on the beach?  In the summer, where do the largest wind waves breaking on California's beaches come from?
• What has "feeling the bottom" got to do with breaking waves?
  

Waves & the Beach:

• Under what circumstances do the waves that break percolate through the sand? 
  
• Under what circumstances do they simply swash back and forth on the beach? 
• Which of the above results in beach erosion?  Is there a season when this is more likely?
  
• What is a rip current? 
  What sorts of velocities are associated with rip currents? 
  What should you do if you are caught in one?
• Are beaches generally stable areas (e.g., good places to build homes)?

• Why might humans care about really big waves that occur far from shore?
• What are really big wind waves that occur far from shore called? 
  How are they formed?
  What is the amplitude of the largest one measured?
  What is a "sea"?
  
• Why are there really big waves in the Mouth of the Columbia River?
  

• On what density contrast do internal waves travel?
  
• What amplitudes might you expect for internal waves?
• What happens to the ocean when internal waves break?
• What causes internal waves to break?
  

• What is "wave climate"?
  
• What was going on in the 1940's that caused scientists to begin to study "wave climate"?
• What do you have to know to estimate the size of the waves breaking on a beach on any given day?
• Why is the wave climate of California fundamentally different from that of the East Coast of the U.S.?

• What types of tools have been devised to measure wave height from the bottom of the ocean?
  What is the advantage of this tool over something that sticks out of the top of the ocean (is present in the same location as the waves).
  
• How often is data retrieved from floating wave buoys off the coast of California, Oregon and Washington?  Where is the data sent?
  

• How are waves impacted by pollutants in the ocean?
• How do waves impact pollutants in the ocean?
• How well do we now understand wave climate and how waves behave on real beaches?