Why do waves bend towards the shore?
When waves meet shallow water they slow down. They always bend towards the shallow side. This is why they bend towards the shore. It is…
Tag: waves
5 Sea Colours That Are Easy to See
Every time we look out at the sea there are lots of colours. Our brain tends to mash them all up because it is busy…
Cross Hatch Wave Pattern
This is a video for readers of the book How to Read Water. Notice how a cross-hatch pattern forms where the waves meet on this…
Pacific Island Navigation
There was a near perfect ripple map on a very windy West Wittering beach yesterday. The different wave patterns on each side of an island…
Reflections and Ripples
We see the most detail in relatively calm water when we look at the places where light and dark reflections meet. Look at the line…
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 a Slick Line?
Slick lines form on water when a very thin layer of oil spreads out across the water. The oil dampens ripples creating calmer patches. Over…
What is swash?
Swash is the name given to the waves that rush up the beach after a wave has broken. They are intriguing little waves that inhabit…