Wave and how it suport life on earth

greatest work of God that support this planet, without waves, the world would be a different place because Waves are caused by winds. Winds in turn are caused by Differences in temperature on the planet, mainly between the hot tropics and the cold poles and the temperature fluctuations of continents relative to the sea. On the other hand the waves allow the wind to transfer its energy to the water's surface and to make it move. That means without waves, the winds would have only a very small grip on the water and would not be able to move it as much.

I have previously discussed the beauty in the creation of ocean, in the ocean; there are various layers of waves including internal wave and surface waves, all of which are made by the creator to suit life on earth. everything that God created is so suseful for us ,and it is only through them we can know the imporatnce and existence of God.for exemple you can imagine hoge the forceof the wind could be to steer water and store in it so much energy we can imagine in wave.but yet , the wind is , the wave are made suite our living and what we do to facilitate our life. this makeit iportant to begreatful for everything and to respect the biosphere nature we inherited and that continue to support our life.
In addition to the above , waves support our planet environment and climate through the following:


· Waves promote the exchange of gases at the surface: carbon dioxide into the oceans and oxygen out. Currents and eddies mix the layers of water which would otherwise become stagnant and less conducive to life. Nutrients are thus circulated and re-used.


Wave stabilize the planet's temperature and minimize its extremes: The large ocean currents transport warm water from the tropics to the poles and cold water the other way. For instance, because of warm ocean currents arriving from the north, the temperature of New Zealand is 3-4 degrees higher than it would be without them.
For the creatures in the sea, ocean currents allow their larvae to be dispersed and to be carried great distances: Many creatures spawn only during storms when large waves can mix their gametes effectively.
Without waves, there would not be as many species living in the sea: Coastal creatures living in shallow water experience the brunt of the waves directly: In order to survive there, they need to be robust and adaptable. Thus waves maintain a gradient of biodiversity all the way from the surface, down to depths of 30m or more.
Waves make beaches by transporting sand from deeper down towards the shore and by washing the sand and removing fine particles. Waves stir and suspend the sand so that currents or gravity can transport it.
Beside this other negative impact of wave is that they can Waves can become unexpectedly strong and destructive. Also they pound shoreline rocks and cause to them to erode, thus organism attached to rocks delay the erosion.


Wave is caused when water is disturbed and this is creating a form of a surface wave. The subsequent motions of the surface wave after disturbance are the result of the gravitational action tending to return the water to its undisturbed position. In the open sea, waves are generated due to a wind blowing over a calm water surface. This makes wave properties to be under governance of the wind strength, duration and fetch.

Ocean waves are usually divided into three classes, depending on the period and origin of the waves-


Ripples, or capillary waves
Seas waves are waves produced by local storms,
Swell waves are propagated into the area of interest from distant storm systems.
Oceanographers have been able to predict waves by statistical means thus, various wave heights may occur over a certain period of time for a particular sea surface of a given amount of energy.

Ocean surface waves are surface waves that occur in the upper layer of the ocean. They usually result from distant winds or geologic effects and may travel thousands of miles before striking land. They range in size from small ripples to huge tsunamis. There is little actual forward motion of individual water particles in a wave, despite the large amount of energy and momentum it may carry forward.

Three factors influence the formation of "wind waves":

Wind speed
Distance of open water that the wind has blown over; called fetch
Length of time the wind has blown over a given area
All of these factors work together to determine the size and shape of ocean waves. The greater each of the variables, the larger the waves. Waves are measured by:


Height (from trough to crest)
Wavelength (from crest to crest)
Period (time interval between arrival of consecutive crests at a stationary point)
Other features associated with wave are :


· waves in shallow water As waves enter shallow water, they become taller and slow down, eventually breaking on the shore.

· wave groups in the real world, waves are not of an idealised, harmonious shape but irregular. They are composed of several interfering waves of different frequency and speed.

· wave reflection Water waves bounce off denser objects such as sandy or rocky shores. Very long waves such as tsunamis bounce off the continental slope.

· Tsunamis are caused by deep earthquakes which disturb the water above them, causing a wave front to radiate out at high speed. Tsunamis are unpredictable and can cause considerable damage. Mega tsunamis may occur when asteroids hit the ocean or when volcanoes erup

· seiches and bores Seiches are standing waves in lakes, harbours and enclosed oceans. Bores are rapidly moving waves, caused by spring tides entering narrowing rivers.

· internal waves Internal waves are an interesting phenomenon that cannot be observed from above. They propagate along layers caused by thermoclines, underlying fresh water and the like. They can cause sizeable undersea waves

· wave damage Waves cause damage to the coast. Whereas healthy dunes and beaches are able to repair themselves, the rocky shore is not.

Some waves undergo a phenomenon called "breaking". A breaking wave is one whose base can no longer support its top, causing it to collapse. A wave breaks when it runs into shallow water, or when two wave systems oppose and combine forces.

Three main types of breaking waves are identified by surfers or surf lifesavers. Their varying characteristics make them more or less suitable for surfing, and present different dangers.

Spilling, or rolling: these are the safest on which to surf; they can be found in relatively sheltered areas.
Plunging, or dumping: these break suddenly and can "dump" swimmers—pushing them to the bottom with great force. Strong winds can cause dumpers; they can also be found where there is a sudden rise in the sea floor.
Surging: these may never actually break as they approach the water's edge, as the water below them is very deep. These waves can knock swimmers over and drag them back into deeper water.
In the context of sediment transport on beachs, ocean surface waves can also be classified as either constructive or destructive:

Constructive waves tend to be low in height (under 1 metre), and therefore low in energy. As they approach the beach, the wave front steepens only slowly, gently spilling on the beach surface. Swash rapidly loses volume and energy as water percolates through the beach material. This tends to give a weak backwash that has insufficient force to pull sediment off the beach or to impede swash from the next wave. As a consequence, material is slowly, but constantly, moved up the beach, leading to the formation of ridges (or berms).

Destructive waves are tall, toppling waves carrying a lot of energy. As they approach the beach, they rapidly steepen, and when breaking they plunge down and scour the beach. This creates a powerful backwash, as a significant amount of the energy of the wave has not dissipated during breaking and runup. The backwash inhibits the swash from the next wave. Very little material is moved up the beach, leaving the backwash to pull material away. Destructive waves are commonly associated with steeper beach profiles. The force of each wave may project some shingle well towards the rear of the beach where it forms a large ridge known as the storm beach.

Ocean wave measurement

Common ways of measuring waves are:

Using a buoy that records the motion of the water surface. These movements become the wave climate for that location and statistics are calculated including the significant and maximum wave heights and periods. Early waverider buoys measured wave trains in one direction only. More modern waverider buoys can measure movement in true three dimensions and so also give information about wave direction. The waverider buoys are typically positioned off the entrances of major ports or major recreational surfing or swimming beaches. A network of waverider buoys properly positioned can allow the interpolation of the wave climate for that region. Waverider buoy data is a typical input for coastal modelling, the waverider wave train is typically the deep water wave climate that is then refracted across the seabed contours into the wave breaking zone.
A cheaper method is to use a wave pole. An observer stands on the shore in a designated spot and sights the wave alongside a pole positioned between them and the waves. Such poles are often part of weather monitoring stations located along coastlines, particularly those associated with lighthouses.
Ship board observations of waves has been happening for over 130 years. Ship board observations are the longest record of wave climate on the planet and are commonly the best source of data for coastal modelling. A problem with more recent datasets is that they are less likely to contain the waves associated with rarer extreme events.
There are newer methods of measuring wave climate including extracting the information from satellite camera images.
As u can see the way waves work is another phenomina of the reality of how everything in life is linked. The Earth is a sanctuary in which human was made to dwell in comfort. Everything is made in most perfect design and balanced. Human responsibility is to maintain this fragile equilibrium through wise governance and sound personal conduct.to protect nature's many bounties given to them by the God. Today we see much revolt of environment and abnormality because of imbalance created by human activities. W e must always remmebr that each one of us is ambasador of God inthis planet and our mission is clear. to belive in HIM na do good things and build formidable institution and infractructure, raise good kids and protect the environment- All this come from knowledge and experience- we should ask ourselves if we have learnt and use the knowledge in the right direction.We should understand that preservation is therefore more than a good policy recommendation.Innovations in technology, for example, were hotly debated today all of whom recognized the importance of considering the long-term impact on both society and the environment. we should all incorporate sound ecological principles in everything we do Together we can tackle the environmental problems that besiege our planet. in nut shell, everything that created are created to communicate with us , we are oblidged to pay attention and learn from them and synergse our findings to solve life problems- let nature be your teacher, come forth and bring with you a heart that watch, receives and give.

Waves can have a major impact on navigation vessels respond to wave periods typically found in exposed ocean. Next time I will see if I can discussed wave behavior and interaction with ships

References
"Anatomy of a Wave" Holben, Jay boatsafe.com captured 5/23/06
Carr, Michael "Understanding Waves" Sail Oct. 1998: 38-45.
Rousmaniere, John. The Annapolis Book of Seamanship, New York: Simon & Schuster 1989