<\/span>Wave formation using the example of a puddle<\/span><\/h3>\nEvery one of you has seen a puddle into which the wind drives, creating small eddies and pushing them away in the direction of the wind. Depending on the duration, strength and continuity in a certain wind direction, these turbulences continue to build up and a so-called wind sea is created with disordered wave crests and troughs that are pushed out of the storm area in the corresponding wind direction. This can result in wave crests up to 60 meters high, which can not only break the neck of a small nutshell but also wipe out a large oil tanker. <\/p>\n
The wind then drives the wave forward and the so-called wave crest is created. Gravity then pulls it back into the wave trough before the next wave crest forms and breaks again at the crest. When the wave begins to break, the first whitecaps appear. For some people, it may seem as if the water is moving with the wave, but this is not the case. Instead, the water remains in the same place and only the wave itself propagates over the surface of the sea. This means that only new water particles are actually pushed along. <\/p>\n
When this wind sea then leaves the storm’s area of influence days later, the Earth’s gravity is responsible for the energy brought in by the wind returning to normal and sorting itself out. The wind sea leaves the area of influence (fetch) and sorts itself, i.e. the wind energy returns to sea level and shifts to so-called orbital rollers, which are located under the swell mounds. <\/p>\n
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