So I’ve noticed that any time I’ve gone to the beach relatively early in the morning the sea is really calm. Practically no waves and really still. Is there any reason for this?
In: Earth Science
There are two types of waves which can turn a flat sea into a rougher one – swell waves and wind waves.
Swell waves can arrive at any time of day, but because wind waves are generated by the wind, they only develop when the wind begins to blow steadily. Since wind speeds are often low at night, and increase during the daytime, wind waves often die out during the night, leading to a relatively flat sea (perhaps with swell waves) in the early morning. During the day, the wind waves increase in size as the wind speed increases, leading to a rougher, more choppy, sea surface during the afternoon and evening.
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