Final answer:
When waves reach shallow water, they exhibit shoaling, where their energy is compressed into a higher wave, and refraction, which affects wave speed and wavelength. Light refraction makes objects in water appear shallower and legs shorter when wading. Ocean waves appear complex as they are combinations of simpler waves.
Step-by-step explanation:
As waves travel into shallow water, their particles exhibit specific behaviors due to changing depth. Shoaling is an effect where waves traveling from deeper to shallower water compress their energy into a smaller volume, resulting in taller waves. This transition also involves the process of refraction, where water waves bend and propagate slower, their wavelength decreases when entering shallower areas.
When considering an object submerged in water, it appears shallower than its actual depth due to the refraction of light. Light rays bend toward the normal as they pass from water to air, making the object look higher than it really is. This optical illusion also explains why a person’s legs appear shorter when wading in the water.
While simple water waves can be characterized by a sinusoidal shape, most ocean waves look complicated because they are the sum of multiple simple waves. Viewing these ocean waves as a combination of simpler waveforms helps in understanding their complexity.