Wave Basics
What is the highest point of a wave called?
Amplitude
What creates typical ocean waves?
Wind
What two things cause currents?
Wind and density differences
Does sound travel faster or slower in hot water?
Faster
What do waves carry?
Energy
What are the two types of wave? Describe the motion
Longitudinal (side to side)
Transverse (up and down)
What creates tsunami waves?
Earthquakes, underwater landslides, volcanoes
What makes water more dense?
Salt and cold temperature
Marine mammals use this to "see" things in the ocean.
Echolocation
Does sound travel faster at shallower or deeper depths?
Deeper
What is the distance from crest to crest of a wave called?
Wavelength
What is the wave speed of a tsunami?
500km (speed of a jet plane)
How does the Coriolis force move objects?
It curves them to the right or left of the direction of wind.
Is the speed of sound faster or slower in water than air?
Faster
Why do we use sound to study the ocean?
SONAR for mapping the ocean floor
What type of wave is a sound wave?
Longitudinal
What are two differences between tsunamis and ocean waves?
Speed, size, cause
Describe Eckman transport.
As you move deeper down the water column, the water creates a spiral
What causes the most sound in the ocean?
Humans
Describe wave height, wave length and wave period to for bumpy waves.
Large height, large wavelength, short wave period
What type of wave is an ocean wave?
Transverse
Why do tsunamis get so big?
As they get shallower, the energy has nowhere to go but up.
Mass amounts of energy
What is a thermocline and halocline?
Thermocline- where hot and cold water meet
Halocline- where salty and less salty water meet
What instrument do we use to listen underwater?
Hydrophone
What is an El Nino?
Climate pattern characterized by warmer than usual ocean surface temperatures