Wave types - constructive and destructive
When the wind blows over the sea, it creates waves. The size and energy of the wave depends on certain factors:
- the How far a wave has travelled. - how far the wave has travelled
- the strength of the wind
- how long the wind has been blowing for
Wave types
There are two different types of wave - constructive and destructive. They can affect the coastline in different ways. When a wave reaches the shore, the water that rushes up the beach is known as the The water flowing towards a beach when a wave breaks. . The water that flows back towards the sea is known as the The movement of water down the beach.. The energy of the swash and backwash determine the type of wave.
Destructive waves
The characteristics of a Waves which remove material from the beach. The swash is weaker than the backwash. are:
- weak swash and strong backwash
- the strong backwash removes Small fragments of rock and soil that form layers. from the beach
- the waves are steep and close together
Constructive waves
The characteristics of a Waves which help build up material on the beach. They tend to have a low frequency and strong swash. are:
- strong swash and weak backwash
- the strong swash brings sediments to build up the beach
- the backwash is not strong enough to remove the sediment
- the waves are low and further apart