China 
Africa 
Explore chapters and articles related to this topic
Fundamental Physics
Published in Vanesa Magar, Sediment Transport and Morphodynamics Modelling for Coasts and Shallow Environments, 2020
Refraction is the process of wave bending due to interaction with the seabed. As waves propagate nearshore and reach regions shallower than the wave base, corresponding to a water depth that is half the wavelength, the waves begin to slow down, and the wave crest starts to align itself with the bathymetric contours. The refraction coefficient, KR, may be computed by applying Snell’s law to ocean waves approaching a medium with changing depth. KR is defined as KR=bb0=cosαcosα0.
The offshore environment
Published in White David, Cassidy Mark, Offshore Geotechnical Engineering, 2017
In shallow water, the water particles within the wave orbit an elliptical path (Figure 2.17b) and in very shallow water, h ≤ L/20, only the minor axis diminishes with depth, such that close to the seabed water motion is horizontal (Figure 2.17a). In deep water, the so-called wave base occurs at a depth below mean sea level of half the wave length, L/2 (Figure 2.17c), where the magnitude of the water motion is only a few per cent of that at the sea surface.
Sedimentology in metamorphic rocks, the Willyama Supergroup, Broken Hill, Australia
Published in Australian Journal of Earth Sciences, 2018
B. P. J. Stevens, G. M. Bradley
The water depths at which Broken Hill Group sedimentation occurred is of considerable interest in terms of genesis of the Broken Hill orebody (see discussion below). Fair-weather wave base is typically 5–15 m, storm wave base 10–30 m (Walker, 1984). In a basin open to a major ocean, the storm wave base could be up to 100 m deep. Wave base is equal to half the wavelength, which is determined by wind speed, wind duration and fetch (the distance across the water body) (Table 2). Even in land-locked lakes, substantial waves can be generated by wind. For example, waves up to 6.5 m high have been recorded on Lake Michigan resulting from sustained storms.