GEOG 1280 Lecture Notes - Lecture 27: Longshore Drift
17 May 2017
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Document Summary
In a wave the water particles are moving in circles, energy is being transmitted in the water by the wave however the water particles are not moving forward with the wave. Wave is generated by the circular movement of water. Wave formation: as the wave approaches the shoreline, the wave begins to be affected by friction, therefore becomes more elliptical until it breaks. Fetch: wavelength is a function of wind velocity, and fetch; wave height is controlled by wind velocity, fetch and gradient of surface water. The longer the wind blows across a water surface, the higher the waves can become. As a wave approaches a coastline, the waves bend in correspondence with the depth of the shoreline (bays, headlands etc. When a wave is concentrated on a headland, more energy. In a cove because of a bending of the waves, less energy. Particles are eroded on the headlands and deposited in the coves and bays.
