GEOL107 Lecture Notes - Lecture 15: Refraction, Fringing Reef, Longshore Drift
27 Jul 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Glacier ice moves downhill glacial slip. Plastic flow internally flows as it moves downhill it fractures and begins to break. As waves approach shoreline, series of events occur that eventually causes waves to break at shoreline: 1. As waves approach shoreline, water depths decrease: 2. When water depths are less than wave length of wave, ocean bottom begins to interfere with circular motion of water particles: 3. Interferences circular motion to change to more elliptical motion: 4. This elliptical motion results in waves slowing down (velocity decreases: 5. When wave slows down wave height increases: waves break at a shoreline because they slow down, 6. When wave weight becomes too high, wave can no longer support its weight and it breaks: waves break at a shoreline because you get bottom interference. In areas where water depth varies along coastline, waves refract (or curve) as they approach shoreline they move faster in deeper areas, slower in shallower area.
