How do waves always go in the direction of the shore, and what happens in the middle ground between the two directions? (lets say there is a sea with 2 lands on either side)

Question

When you look at a beach, the waves are always coming in the direction of the shore. On the other side of the shore, the waves are also coming in the direction of the land that’s opposite the one you’re on. Is there a middle ground in-between these wave directions where the waves are just flat and not going in either direction? Im from poland looking at the beach rn. Sweden is 170km away on the other side of the sea. the waves are coming in the direction of both shores. HOW? what happens in between the two shores, how do they just change directions. please help

In: Planetary Science

Answer 1

Out at sea waves can go in all directions. They are produced by the interaction of wind and water, so the wave direction is related to the wind direction. As waves move from deep water to shallower water, the speed and height of the wave changes, slowing down and getting taller. part of this slowing down, a process called refraction, changes the direction of a wave to be more directly onshore, so a wave traveling at an angle to the shore in deep water, as it enters shallower water, will turn to move more directly onto the shore.