Reading Wave Patterns – A Challenge
Watch the video above and study the patterns in the water. How many different wave patterns can you spot? What causes them and what do…
Tag: wave height
The Effect of Air Pressure on Tide Heights
High air pressure leads to lower than expected tides. The opposite is also true: low air pressure leads to higher than expected tides. We can…
What is Clapotis?
When waves reflect back off a sea wall, they meet more incoming waves and this can set up a totally new wave pattern called ‘clapotis’…
The Effect of Wind on Breaking Waves
The way waves behave is a big subject. But here we’ll look at just one simple aspect, the way the wind shapes breaking waves at…
How to Read Wave Patterns at the Coast
I took this photo from the South West Coast Path in the Isle of Purbeck, Dorset, a few days ago. In it we can see…
What is Fetch?
The definition of the word ‘fetch’ is simple: The distance that wind travels over open water. But why do we need to know that? Spend…
When a Low Pressure Goes Through
There have some intense winter low pressure systems barrelling onto UK shores recently, going by the name of Storm Angus. Below are some images that…