Ocean waves

Waves are oscillatory movements in water, manifested by an alternate rise and fall of the sea surface. In other words, waves are actually the energy, not the water as such, which moves across the ocean surface. Water particles only travel in a small circle as a wave passes. The maximum wave height is determined by the strength of the wind, i.e. how long it blows and the area over which it blows in a single direction. Waves travel because wind pushes the water body in its course while gravity pulls the crests of the waves downward. The falling water pushes the former troughs upward, and the wave moves to a new position. The actual motion of the water beneath the waves is circular. It indicates that things are earned up and forward as the wave approaches, and down and back as it passes.