Science of BIG WAVES

Pre-viewing

1.     1. Wind stirs up water on the surface of the ocean, which grows larger, and the sudden elevation of the sea floor pushes the small waves up, where they get bigger and eventually break on the beach.

2.     2. What do you think a surfer should know about waves before they try and ride a wave while surfing?

      Yes, otherwise they may get caught out by something they did not expect and not know how to cope with it.

Questions for the Video

1.    Observe all the waves that you see and describe how they form and break. Use as many words found in the segment for your descriptions.

2.    Describe how waves are formed, how they originate, and how they are measured?

Waves are formed out at sea in things called “wave factories”. In the ocean the wind chops up the surface of the water, where it moves towards land and gets bigger, later they form into larger waves and eventually they break on the land as sandbars push their energy out of the water, making a wave.

3.    What is a maverick wave and what is special about the way it is formed?

Maverick waves are giant waves, reaching the size of four storey buildings. The way they are formed comes down to many determining factors. The wind speed and amount of ocean covered, further out in the ocean starts the creation of the wave. Once the wave comes into the launching pad, it hits the pad and the wave contracts and slows down. The forward energy has no way to go except up, creating a maverick wave

4.    How is energy stored and transferred during a wave?

Energy is stored and transferred through the water in a wave. When the wave hits the shore’s sandbar, the forward energy has nowhere to go but up, giving height to the wave, then crashing on the beach.

5.    List any kind of advice given by the surfers about how to survive these “big waves.”

It is good to know how the waves break, respect the waves' power, the trick is to get in there and get a good ride before the wave breaks and the water comes down on you.

7.6 Questions: TRESBP

1. It was necessary to extend the Tweed River breakwaters because silt was being deposited at the river mouth and was clogging it up.

2. Severe storm erosion added onto the effect of the breakwaters would mean that it would take a long time for the removed sand to return to its normal position on the beaches.

3. The Tweed River became unsafe to shipping because the silting caused the sandbars on the ships routes to be higher, making the water shallower. The natural process that caused it however was long-shore drift.

4. The dredging of the Tweed River and the associated beach nourishment program was only a short term solution as it was not efficient or sustainable for the environment.

5. The sand that is built up on the sandbank is pumped through a series of pipes, under Tweed River and is released at one of four deposit points.

8. The mouth of the river has extended further out as time has gone on and the mouth of the river has moved more to the right of the photograph. 

7.1 Questions

1. Because roughly 85% of the Australian population is placed within 50 kilometres of the coast, increased environmental pressure is put on our coastline. This problem needs to be managed by geographers so the development of our coastline is sustainable.

2. The reason they aim to create a sustainable development along the coastline is so that it will continue to last, as such a huge proportion of Australia’s population is on the coast.

3. Changing lifestyles: eg. Moving house from the city lifestyle to the sea, large towns to small, etc.

4. Residential caps to keep population down. 

5. Pollution: urban development. Tourism and recreational pressures: environmental pressure from same “scenic route” driving, flying, vehicle pollution, etc. Population growth: increasing pressure on coastal environment as many country families are moving to the coast and other coastal areas. Overdevelopment:  Environmental pressure from excessive building of large structures such as office buildings and apartment blocks.

6. Geographers provide the correct statistics to ensure that there isn’t too much pressure on the coast from large apartment blocks, which is common in the coastal lifestyle.   

7.2 Model Diagrams