INDIAN MARITIME UNIVERSITY

(A Central University under the Union Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways; Government of India)
Chennai Campus

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Subject/MCC Name: Meteorology

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<programme>/<subject>/<MCC>: <name>/Lesson/Lecture <x> <Lecturer>

© Indian Maritime University, Chennai Campus

 https://www.britannica.com/science/climate-met
eorology/Atmospheric-pressure-and-wind

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06/01/2024 <<Programme/Course/Topic/Trainer/Version X/Month-Year>>
© Indian Maritime University, Chenn
• Ocean waves are disturbances in the surface of the ocean. Ocean waves come
in many shapes and sizes, ranging in length from a fraction of a centimetre for
the smallest ripples to half the circumference of Earth for the tides.
• An Ocean wave is a ridge or a swell on the surface of a body of water. They are
oscillatory surface water movements resulting in the rise and fall of surface
water. Waves are the horizontal movements of ocean water. They are the

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energy that moves across the ocean surface, not the water itself. The wind

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provides this energy for the waves. Each water particle in a wave moves in a

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circular motion.
• They are formed by wind, gravity, earthquakes, and submarine landslides
disturbing the water surface. Once formed, and regardless of origin, ocean
waves can travel great distances before reaching the coast.

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• Ocean altimeter satellite missions, such as TOPEX/Poseidon and the Jason-series,
measure significant wave height, which is the average wave height (from trough
to crest) of the highest third of waves in a given sample period.
The following are a few important terms relating to waves:
• The highest and lowest points of a wave are called the crest and trough,
respectively.

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• Wave height is the vertical distance between the trough and crest.
• Wave amplitude is one-half of the wave height.

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• Wavelength is the horizontal distance from trough to trough or from crest to crest.
• The wave typically travels forward as parallel fronts of crests and troughs.
• The wave period is the time in seconds between successive crests or successive
troughs that pass a fixed point

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• Since deep-water waves do not interact with the ocean bottom as they travel,
their speed is independent of the water depth. But as waves enter shallow water,
interaction with the bottom alters the waves. Wave speed decreases, wavelength
shortens and wave height increases.
• Waves are raised by winds blowing locally; the stronger the winds, the higher the
waves. Swells are caused by winds far away, winds that generate waves in a
distant region OR winds that existed earlier in the same location.

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• Waves grow with the strength of the winds. Huge waves generated by typhoons
(TRS) can rise above 10 metres in the open sea. Storm surge is a rise in sea

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level on top of the normal tide due to the combined effects of low atmospheric
pressure and high winds associated with tropical cyclones. Primarily, the water
is pushed towards the shore and piled up against the coast by the force of high
winds associated with tropical cyclones to generate a storm surge

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• A Tsunami (Japanese word for shore waves) is a series of extremely long
waves caused by a large and sudden displacement of the ocean, usually the
result of an earthquake below or near the ocean floor. This force creates
waves that radiate outward in all directions away from their source,
sometimes crossing entire ocean basins.
The types of Tsunami

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• Distant tsunami: Are generated from a long way away, such as from across
the Pacific in Chile. ...

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• Regional tsunami: Are generated between one and three hours travel time
away from their destination. ...
• Local tsunami: Are generated very close to New Zealand.
Four stages of a Tsunami
• initiation, split, amplification, and run-up
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• Tides are very long-period waves that move through the ocean in response to the forces
exerted by the moon and sun. Tides originate in the ocean and progress toward the
coastlines where they appear as the regular rise and fall of the sea surface.
• The Moon and Earth exert a gravitational pull on each other. On Earth, the Moon's
gravitational pull causes the oceans to bulge out on both the side closest to the Moon and
the side farthest from the Moon. These bulges create high tides. The low points are where
low tides occur.

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• Because the Earth rotates through two tidal “bulges” every lunar day, coastal
areas experience two high and two low tides every 24 hours and 50 minutes.
High tides occur 12 hours and 25 minutes apart. It takes six hours and 12.5
minutes for the water at the shore to go from high to low, or from low to high.
• The highest high tide is called as a “Spring Tide” and lowest low tide is called as a
“Neap Tide”.
• Harmonic analysis as applied to tides is the process by which the observed tidal

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data at any place are separated into a number of harmonic constituents. The
quantities sought are known as harmonic constants and consist of the

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amplitudes and certain phase relations.
• ADMIRALTY Tide Tables (NP 201 – 208) contain easy-to-use tidal times heights,
including tidal stream information.
• The flow of tide diurnally in the opposite direction is called a Tidal Stream. While
the tide is flowing in a direction towards the shore it is called “flooding” and
when the tide flows away from the shore it is called “Ebbing”.
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• A tidal bore OR Bore tide occurs along a coast where a river empties into an
ocean or sea. A tidal bore is a strong tide that pushes up the river, against the
current. A tidal bore is a true tidal wave.
• A tidal bore is a surge. A surge is a sudden change in depth. When a channel
suddenly gets deeper, it experiences a positive surge. When a channel
suddenly gets shallower, it experiences a negative surge. Tidal bores are

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positive surges.

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• Not all coasts feature tidal bores. In fact, there are few places where tidal

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bores occur. The river must be fairly shallow. It must have a narrow outlet to
the sea. However, the estuary, or place where the river meets the sea, must be
wide and flat. The coast’s tidal range—the area between high tide and low tide
—must be quite large, usually at least six meters (about 20 feet). When all of
these conditions are met, a tidal bore is formed.

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<programme>/<subject>/<MCC>: <name>/Lesson/Lecture <x> <Lecturer>

© Indian Maritime University, Chennai Campus