Science Blog: O.W.T: Ocean Waves and Tides

Hi! This is my second blog on oceans. This time I am going to talk about Waves and Tides. This blog will be about what causes ocean surface waves and what causes ocean tides.

Wind that pushes the waves to shore are what cause ocean surface waves. There are different parts to a wave like the wave length or height. The wave length is the distance between two waves. The wave height is how big it is from the top of the wave to the bottom of the wave. When I say the bottom of the wave I mean at the surface of the water.The crest is the highest point on the wave. The trough is the lowest part of the wave. Surfers try to ride the crest of the wave.

Now, it is time for the next paragraph. Tsunamis are waves caused by a movement in the water. They can be caused by a volcano, earthquake, landslide or a glacier breaking. Tsunamis get bigger and slower when they get close to shore. That happens to every wave, but a Tsunami wave is one giant wall of water.

Now time to blog about tides. Tides are what happens when the sea level rises. Tides are caused mostly by the gravitational pull of the moon and sun. Sea level is the average surface level of the ocean.

There are different types of tides and they depend on where you are and if it is a full moon or a new moon. If you live close to the equator then you will probably have a neap tide. Neap tides have the smallest tidal range and happen when the sun and moon form a right angle. If you live away from the equator you are less likely to get a neap tide, instead you will probably get a spring tide. Spring tides have the largest tidal range and happen when the sun and moon form a straight line. Tidal range is the difference between one areas high and low tide.