Waves, Tides, and Coasts

(& Marine Life in more depth)

EAS 2200
Lecture 22
 Outline
 Waves
 Some Definitions
 Basic Concepts of Shallow-Water and Deep-Water
Waves
 Wind-Generated Waves
 Tsunamis
 Tides
 Equilibrium Theory of Tides - effect of Moon and Sun
 Dynamic Theory of Tides: tides as waves
 Special cases
 Coasts
 Primary & secondary coasts, terraces
 Work of waves, longshore transport
 Beaches, sand budgets, seasonal changes
 How do waves & tides
affect us?
 Navigation & Shipping
 Coastal Structures
 Off-Shore Structures
(oil platforms)
 Beach erosion,
sediment transport
 Recreation
 Fishing
 Potential energy
source
 Fundamental Principles

 Ideally, waves represent a propagation of energy, not matter.

 (as we will see, ocean waves are not always ideal).
 Three kinds:
 Longitudinal (e.g., sound wave)
 Transverse (e.g., seismic “S” wave) - only in solids
 Surface, or orbital, wave
 Occur at the interfaces of two materials of different densities.
 These are the common wind-generated waves.
 (also seismic Love and Rayleigh waves)
Idealized Surface Wave Motion
 Some Definitions

• Wave Period: Time it Takes a Wave Crest to Travel one Wavelength

(units of time)
• Wave Frequency: Number of Crests Passing A Fixed Location per Unit
Time (units of 1/time)
• Frequency = 1/Period
• Wave Speed: Distance a Wave Crest Travels per Unit Time (units of
distance/time)
• Wave Speed = Wave Length / Wave Period for deep water waves only
• Wave Amplitude: Wave Height/2
• Wave Steepness: Wave Height/Wavelength
 Generation of Waves
Most surface waves generated by
wind
(therefore, also called wind waves)
Waves are also generated by
Earthquakes, landslides — tsunamis
Atmospheric pressure changes
(storms)
Gravity of the Sun and Moon — tides
 Generation of Wind Waves

 For very small waves, the restoring force is surface tension.

 These waves are called capillary waves
 For larger waves, the restoring force is gravity
 These waves are sometimes called gravity waves
 Waves propagate because these restoring forces overshoot
(just like gravity does with a pendulum).
 Height of Wind-
Generated Waves depends
Wind Speed
Duration of Wind Event
Fetch - the distance over which
wind can blow without obstruction
 Waves and Swell

 Once generated, waves can propagate as swell without wind

 Dispersion:
 Waves of different sizes travel at different speeds
 Large ones travel faster
 Damping
 Because waves are not ideal, energy is dissipated and waves die out
 Small ones die out, or damp out, faster.
 Large waves can easily travel across an ocean without damping out.
Deep- and Shallow-Water
Waves
 Deep-Water waves travel in water that is deeper
than 1/2 the wave’s wavelength
 Depth > L/2
 Shallow-Water waves travel in water that is
shallower than 1/20 of the wave’s wavelength
 Depth < L/20
 Intermediate waves are neither purely “deep” nor
“shallow”.
 L/20 < Bottom Depth < L/2

Note: L = wavelength
Deep Water
Waves
 Deep water waves have
nearly ideal shape and thus
propagate energy but very
little mass.
 Shallow Water Waves
 Shallow water waves are not ideal and
propagate both energy and mass.
 Wave Speeds
 Deep-Water Waves (Bottom Depth > L/2)
 Speed is a Function of Wavelength Only
 Speed = Wave Length / Wave Period
 Waves with Longer Wavelength move faster than Waves with
Shorter Wavelength
 Shallow-Water Waves (Bottom Depth < L/20)
 Speed is a Function of Depth Only
 Speed = 3.13 × (depth)1/2
 At intermediate depths (L/20 < Depth < L/2)
 Wave Speed is a Complicated Function of Both Wavelength &
Depth
 Breaking Waves

 As waves approach the shore,

 drag of the bottom slows the water motion near bottom
 wavelength decreases, while height and steepness increase
 Consequently, there is net forward transport at the surface as
the waves steepens.
 Once height reaches 1/7 wave length, the wave becomes
unstable and breaks.
Wave Heights Derived from the
Shape of the Returned Beam on
the Topex-Poseidon Altimeter
 Tsunamis
 Tsunamis (sometimes improperly called
tidal waves) are large amplitude, long
wavelength waves that propagate on the
ocean surface
 Tsunamis can be generated by
 Earthquakes
 Explosive Volcanic Eruptions
(where are these most likely to happen?)
 Landslides
 Meteorite/Asteroid Impact
 Properties of Tsunamis
 Tsunamis have long periods and long
wavelengths (as long as 1 hour and 100 km
respectively).
 Water motion is primarily horizontal (back &
forth)
 Wavelength is always greater than twice the
water depth for tsunamis.
 Therefore, tsunamis always behave as shallow water
waves everywhere (speed depends on depth).
 In water of average depth (4000 m), a tsunami
will travel at 700 km/hr.
 The December, 26 2004
Sumatran Earthquake and
 Cross Section of
Sumatran Plate Boundary

Epicenter at 30 km depth
Calculated Vertical (left) &
Horizontal Surface
Human Impact: Aceh Before & After
Can we predict tsunamis
and save lives?
 What areas are vulnerable
 Pacific Rim is most vulnerable
 Hawaii is particularly vulnerable
 Japan, Alaska, S. America
 Pacific Northwest
 The plate boundary system in the Pacific NW is behaves very similarly
to the Indonesia one, with very large, very infrequent earthquakes.
Geologic evidence and Japanese historical records indicate a very
large tsunami was generated there in 1700.
 Indian Ocean
 Atlantic and Caribbean
 Many of the Caribbean islands are subduction zone volcanoes -
in addition to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and volcanic
landslides could generate tsunamis
 Eastern Mediterranean
 Both volcanically and seismically active
 Tides
Equilibrium
model of Tides
Tide wave
treated as a
deep-water wave
in equilibrium
with lunar/solar
forcing
No interference
of tide wave
propagation by
continents
Combined
Effects of
Gravitational
and Centrifugal
Forces on Earth
Tides
Simple Diurnal
Plan view of Earth & Moon
Tides (from south!)

moon
 Tidal Day = 24h + 50min

It takes an additional 50 minutes for the Earth to

rotate the additional 12 degrees that the moon moves
in a day.
 Complications

 Tides vary by location

and through time.
 Diurnal : 1 daily cycle
 Semidiurnal: 2 cycles
 Mixed: 2 unequal cycles
 Why don’t we see
simple diurnal tidal
patterns always and
everywhere?
 Inclination of the Moon’s
orbit
 The Sun
 Wave-like behavior of
tides
 Inclination of Lunar Orbit
 The moon’s orbit is inclined up to 28.5o relative to the Earth’s
equator and this produces different tidal patterns at different
latitudes (varies between 18.5 & 28.5° over 18 years).
 Effect of Moon’s Orbit
Declination on Tidal Pattern
Distribution of Diurnal
and Semidiurnal Tides
 The Sun and
Spring &
Neap Tides
 The tidal force exerted on the Earth
by the Sun is about half (46%) that
the exerted on the Earth by the
Moon.
 Spring Tide is a higher than
normal tidal range that occurs
when the Moon is aligned with
the Sun and pulls in the same
direction (new and full moon).
 Neap Tide is a lower than
normal tidal range that occurs
when the Moon pulls at 90˚ to
the Sun (first and last quarter
moon).
 Dynamic Theory of Tides
A more sophisticated view of tides
Tidal wave treated as a shallow-water
wave not in equilibrium with lunar/
solar forcing (a forced wave).
Coriolis Force considered
Continents interfere with tidal wave
propagation
 Tide Waves Are Shallow-
Water Waves
 The tidal wave has wavelength (L) on the order
of 1/2 the circumference of the earth or about
20,000 km.
 A wave will behave as a shallow water wave
when depth < L/20 — in this case, for depth <
1000km.
 Since ocean bottom depths are typically only about 4
km, it is safe to assume that a tide wave is a shallow-
water wave everywhere
 Since speed depends on depth, tidal wave can
be refracted by bathymetry
 Tide Waves Are Forced
Shallow-Water Waves
 As a free shallow water wave, tide wave
speed would be determined by ocean
bottom depth alone but this is not the
case…
 The wave speed for a shallow water wave in 4km of
water is 200m/sec (400 miles/hr).
 The speed that the earth rotates under the moon at the
equator is 463m/sec (1044 miles/hr).
 As a consequence, ocean depth alone does not
determine the tide wave.
 Effect of Earth’s Rotation and
Bottom Drag
 Earth’s rotation and frictional bottom drag on the Tidal Wave
causes the tidal bulge to be pulled in front of the direct line to
 Coriolis Force causes rotation
of tidal wave and currents

Tidal current rotate

clockwise in northern
hemisphere (as expected),
but tidal wave rotates
counter clockwise!
 Global Tides Deduced
from TOPEX-Poseidon
Areas of Extreme Tidal
Range
 Examples:
 Northwestern
Europe (Mont St.
Michel)
 Bay of Fundy
(Maine, New
Brunswick)
 Tidal Bores, e.g.,
Seine, Amazon,
Qiantang
 Why are tides so
large?
 Resonance
 When the forcing
frequency matches free
wave frequency, a
phenomenon called
resonance occurs –
 The free wave interacts
with the forced wave to
produces a much larger
 Other
factors…
 Basin geometry
 Reflects and focuses tidal
wave
 Wave cannot rotate in
narrow basins, just sloshes
back & forth
 Shoaling water depths
 Tidal Energy

Rance, Brittany Norway

Marine Life
Neritic: coastal
Marine Life

Pelagic: open ocean

 Definitions
 Autotroph: carbon and energy for growth comes from
non-organic sources. For example, phytoplankton are
autotrophs because they use CO2 for their carbon
source and use sunlight for their energy source
 Heterotroph: carbon and energy for growth comes
from
pre-formed organic material. For example,
herbivorous zooplankton are heterotrophs because
they consume phytoplankton for their carbon and
energy needs.
 Oligotrophic: Refers to low nutrient and low
productivity environments. For example the
subtropical gyres are oligotrophic regions
 Eutrophic: Refers to high nutrient and high productivity
environments. For example the coastal upwelling
 Some more definitions
 Plankton:
 Organisms with
little or no ability
to swim and
essentially at the
mercy of currents.
 Nekton
 Organisms
sufficiently motile
that they are not
strictly at the
mercy of the
currents.
 Marine Autotrophs
 In the marine environment,
autotrophs are almost
exclusively single-celled
organisms. These include
single-celled algae such as
diatoms, dinoflagellates,
colonial algae such as kelp,
and cyanobacteria.
 There are very few species
of true marine plants (sea
grass, turtle grass, etc.)
and they are restricted to a
few environments.
Dinoflagellate

Phytoplankton

Diatoms

Cocolithophore
Zooplankton
Meroplankton

 Organisms
that spend
only part of
their lives as
plankton
 More definitions
(common!)
 Pelagic:
 Refers to the open ocean
environment
 Epipelagic - surface
waters (where the action
is)
 Neritic
 Coastal waters (usually
relatively shallow)
 Benthic
 Ocean bottom
 Primary Production
 Primary production refers to the conversion of carbon dioxide
to organic carbon through photosynthesis (rarely
chemosynthesis):
6CO2 + 6H2O → C6H12O6 + 6O2
 Since heterotrophs ultimately depend on this primary
production, the level of primary productivity is what limits
biosphere mass.
 The total amount of carbon fixed in this was is called gross
primary production.
 Autotrophs utilize some of the organic compounds they
produce to maintain their own metabolism. The amount in
excess of these needs, (e.g., amount available for growth and
reproduction) is called net primary production.
Photosynthesis and Light
 Light in the Ocean
 Photosynthesis
requires light,
water and CO2 (or
HCO3–). The latter
are abundant in
the ocean, but the
former is limited
to the uppermost
part of the water
column.
 Compensation Depth

 Autotrophs both
photosynthesize and
respire. The depth at
which production rate
of organic matter
(and O2) by
photosynthesis just
matches the
consumption by
respiration is the
compensation depth.
 Critical Depth
 The depth at which total
photosynthesis in the
water column above
equals total respiration in
the water column above is
the Critical Depth.
 In other words, the depth
at which the integrated
photosynthesis matches
integrated respiration.
 Productivity and Redfield
 Stoichiometry of primary production:
 106CO2 + 122H2O + 16HNO3 + H3PO4 <–>
 (CH2O)106(NH3)16H3PO4 + 138O2
 The ratio 106C:16N:1P describes the relative
abundances of key elements in living (marine)
matter and is known as the Redfield ratio.
 N2 is, of course very abundant in the atmosphere
and in the ocean, but most autotrophs cannot utilize
N2. The require a form of fixed nitrogen such as
NO3- or NH4+.
 Photosynthetic bacteria are the only exception.
 Fixed nitrogen is sufficiently rare that it often limits
primary production in the ocean. An environment
Nitrogen Cycle
 Nutrient Distributions
Nitrate NO3- (µM) Phosphate PO43- (µM)
0 10 20 30 40 0 10 20 30 40
0 0

1000 1000

Depth (m)
Depth (m)

2000 2000

3000 3000
Atlantic

Atlantic

Pacific
Pacific

4000 4000
 Two other limiting
nutrients
Silicate
Iron
Seasonal Changes in Light
and Nutrients
Productivity in Temperate
Oceans
Global Productivity