Question

WAVE DISPERSION. Suppose you live on an island in the Western Pacific Ocean and have NO

telephone or radio communications with the 'outside' world, and that a Typhoon is 1500 km
from your island. Using only the change in the swell arriving at the island, explain conceptually
how you would know the storm was moving toward the island. You don't have to see the storm on the horizon use
the principle of wave dispersion (and don't confuse the Typhoon with a
Tsunami).

Answer 1

Inhabitants can detect a typhoon approaching by observing changes in the ocean swell, as wave dispersion causes waves of different wavelengths to arrive at different times, with longer, more powerful waves indicating the storm is moving closer.

Step-by-step explanation:

To understand how to detect a typhoon moving toward an island using the principle of wave dispersion, we can observe changes in the ocean swells. As a storm approaches, the energy it generates transfers to the water, creating waves. These waves travel across the ocean and arrive at the shore with characteristic frequencies and wavelengths. Due to dispersion, waves of different wavelengths travel at different speeds; longer waves (swell) travel faster than shorter waves. When a storm moves closer to an island, there will be a noticeable change in the swell pattern. The interval between the arrival of successive swells may shorten, and they may increase in size and power. By observing these changes, an island's inhabitants could infer that a typhoon is approaching without the need for telecommunication or visual confirmation.