How do sea waves form? Does air just lift the sea water and..VOILA a wave is formed ?!!!?

Question

P.S. why aren't there any waves formed in the swimming pool ?!!

Answer 1

Well, for the most part, you're right, most of the waves are caused by the wind, cleverly called "wind waves". However, not all waves are formed by the wind! Tsunamis are waves caused by Earth's geological effects, earthquakes for example. Waves can travel THOUSANDS of miles!

I learned this in my oceanography class.

--> did you know that there's more sand on the beach during summer?

why?

waves during winter are much bigger and "eat up" the sand.

Here's an image to show a VERY basic example. :]

http://jove.geol.niu.edu/faculty/loubere...

A swimming pool does have waves! However, they are fairly insignificant compared to the waves at a beach or out in the ocean. Also, a swimming pool really has no place to break waves, so expecting waves on a pool might take... forever!

Answer 2

Gravitational pull from the moon. Google it.  

Answer 3

thats about it

look at a pond when wind blows over it - the ripples are small waves.

In the oceans its just magnified - the bigger the body of water the longer the wind has to act - eg pacific has biggest waves.

In contrast the Med has small waves.

Waves only moves up and down - only lateral movement is when the waves break.

Answer 4

No, its a slow buildup. Also, the wind pushes more than it "lifts".

Even for perfectly undisturbed water, tiny rivulets will naturally form. The wind is able to get a grip on these, and start building up waves. Smaller waves get pushed together into larger ones, and this will continue until the largest possible waves (based on wind speed) are attained.

Answer 5

Friction between the air (wind) and the water is one way. They also form by tidal action and occasionally other sources (sub-sea earthquakes or groundflow). Just blow across the surface of a cup of water and you'll see how it works on a small scale. Now imagine that same effect on the surface of the ocean and you can see how waves form.