海里为什么有波浪?
The ocean is never still. Whether we look out from the beach or from a boat, we expect to see waves on the horizon. Waves are created by energy passing through water, which makes the water move in a circular motion. But the water itself doesn't actually travel with the wave. Waves carry energy, not water, across the ocean, and if nothing gets in their way, they can travel across an entire ocean basin.
Most waves are caused by wind. Wind-driven waves, or surface waves, are created by friction between the wind and the surface of the water. As the wind blows across the ocean or a lake, the constant disturbance creates a wave crest. These waves are found all over the open ocean and along the coast.
More dangerous waves can be caused by severe weather such as hurricanes. The strong winds and low pressure of these storms cause a storm surge: a series of long waves that form far from shore in deep water and grow stronger as they move closer to land. Other dangerous waves are caused by underwater events that suddenly move large amounts of water, such as earthquakes, landslides or volcanic eruptions. These very long waves are called tsunamis. Storm surges and tsunamis are not the kind of waves you picture crashing onto the beach. Instead, they roll in like a massive rise in sea level and can reach far inland.
The pull of gravity from the Sun and the Moon also causes waves. These waves are the tides. Many people think "tidal wave" is just another word for a tsunami, but this is a misunderstanding. Tsunamis have nothing to do with the tides, and they can happen at any time, whether the tide is high or low.
海洋从来不会静止。无论是站在海滩上,还是坐在船上,我们总能看见远处的海面上波浪起伏。波浪是能量穿过水体时产生的,能量让水做圆周运动。不过,水本身并不会跟着波浪向前走。波浪在海洋中传递的是能量,而不是水。如果没有东西阻挡,波浪可以横跨整个大洋。
大多数波浪是由风引起的。风浪,也叫表面波,是风和水面之间的摩擦形成的。当风吹过海面或湖面时,持续的扰动就会形成波峰。这种波浪在广阔的大洋和沿海地区随处可见。
更危险的波浪可能由飓风这类恶劣天气引起。这类风暴的强风和低气压会造成风暴潮:一连串在远离海岸的深水区形成的长波,越靠近陆地越猛烈。另一些危险的波浪,是由突然推动大量海水的海底活动引起的,比如地震、海底滑坡或火山喷发。这种波长很长的波叫作海啸。风暴潮和海啸并不是我们想象中拍打海滩的那种浪,它们更像是海平面一下子大幅上涨,海水滚滚而来,可以一直冲到很远的内陆。
太阳和月球的引力也会产生波浪,这就是潮汐。很多人以为“潮汐波”(tidal wave)就是海啸的另一种说法,其实这是误解。海啸和潮汐毫无关系,不管是涨潮还是落潮,随时都可能发生。