– Why dont incoming and outgoing water waves cancel each other out and become flat water?

Question

– Why dont incoming and outgoing water waves cancel each other out and become flat water?

In: Physics

Answer 1

If the two waves were the same height above sea level, same depth below sea level, traveling over a level sea bed, and we’re moving at the same speed but directly opposite one another, then they might cancel each other out. But since an outgoing wave neither has the volume, size, or speed of an incoming wave, that’s not likely to happen.