Explanation Text: How Wave is Formed

 

Wave is a raised line of water which moves across the surface of an area of water, especially the sea. Do you know how the wave is formed?

This is the mechanism how the wave is formed. First, turbulent wind flows form random pressure fluctuations at the sea surface. Small waves with a few centimeters order of wavelengths is generated by the pressure fluctuations. Second, the cross wind keep acting on the initially fluctuated sea surface, then the wave become larger. As the wave become larger, the pressure differences get larger along to the wave growing, then the wave growth rate is getting faster. Then the shear instability expedites the wave growing exponentially. After that the interactions between the waves on the surface generate longer waves and the interaction will transfer wave energy from the shorter waves to the waves have slightly lower frequencies than the frequency at the peak wave magnitudes, then finally the waves will be faster than the cross wind speed.