Winds cause waves on the surface of the ocean, transferring some of its energy through friction between air molecules and water molecules. Strong, sustained winds can result in very large waves that can be challenging to sailors. race journal |
Water on the Move this site from the Museum of Science offers a discussion of winds and waves along with a couple of activities. The site also goes into other ocean topics such as phytoplankton, remote sensing, and food web dynamics, also with accompanying activities. Appropriate for grade levels 5-8 and general audiences.
The Crow's Nest offered as part of the PBS broadcast "Savage Seas", provides a description of the power of waves. The site discusses "weird" waves, including tidal bores, tsunamis, freak waves, and winds of trade. Check out their video clips and wave machine animations. This site also covers other topics such as weather, the deep sea, and surviving at sea. The original broadcast video and companion book are available through this site. Appropriate for grade levels 5-12 and general audiences.
All you ever wanted to know about waves from Ocean World, Texas A&M University's comprehensive web resource. Get to know the various types of waves, how they form, how wind affects waves, and how waves interact with coastlines. After exploring this site, take the interactive quiz or consider the discussion questions at the end of the review. Appropriate for grade levels 9-12 and general audiences.
Ocean Surface Topography from Space try this tutorial from NASA/JPL Topex education site. Learn how ocean wave height and wind measurements are made from satellites. Embedded questions lead to clickable questions that could be used in class assignments. Appropriate for grade levels 9-12 and general audiences.
Global Wind Patterns What do Columbus and Bruce have in common? They both have experience with global wind patterns. Check out this link for a fun activity illustrating how and why global wind patterns behave. Appropriate for grade levels 5-8. Includes a classroom activity on wind and a link to an activity illustrating the Coriolis effect.