Naked Science Forum

Non Life Sciences => Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology => Topic started by: cheryl j on 24/01/2015 21:16:36

Title: what pattern do waves make in a small bay?
Post by: cheryl j on 24/01/2015 21:16:36

I like to paint, and I often do water, and some times try to figure out the shapes and patterns of waves. I'm trying to figure out how to paint choppy water realistically with out it being just a crazy random mess.

Any way what sort of interference pattern would waves make as they enter a more narrow bay or inlet and start bouncing off the sides, ignoring the irregular shapes of the rocks they might be hitting on the sides of the bay or channel. I can't seem to find an example on google images, may be because I don't know what to call it.

Title: Re: what pattern do waves make in a small bay?
Post by: David Cooper on 24/01/2015 21:36:43

There may be no simple answer, because waves bouncing back of the sides will be different depending on the shape of what they're hitting. If it's a hard vertical wall it will reflect waves more strongly than a gently sloping floor where a beach at the top will absorb most of the energy. I suspect in most cases the waves coming in are the main event and there's little to add to them.

Title: Re: what pattern do waves make in a small bay?
Post by: Colin2B on 24/01/2015 22:22:05

It depends on the bay and direction of wind/waves. The waves are refracted by headlands etc. I've seen extreme example at Lulworth Cove which has a narrow entrance, couldn't find images on net but found this http://geographyfieldwork.com/WaveRefraction.htm
At lulworth the waves also bounce back off the shore at times, again no photos.

Title: Re: what pattern do waves make in a small bay?
Post by: jeffreyH on 25/01/2015 01:44:27

Quote from: cheryl j on 24/01/2015 21:16:36

I like to paint, and I often do water, and some times try to figure out the shapes and patterns of waves. I'm trying to figure out how to paint choppy water realistically with out it being just a crazy random mess.

Any way what sort of interference pattern would waves make as they enter a more narrow bay or inlet and start bouncing off the sides, ignoring the irregular shapes of the rocks they might be hitting on the sides of the bay or channel. I can't seem to find an example on google images, may be because I don't know what to call it.

Try this and then click on images.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=images+of+choppy+water