Hey there! Have you ever wondered how those big waves in the ocean are made? Let’s dive into this fun topic and find out!
Every year, surfers from all over the world travel to a special beach called Waimea Bay in Hawaii. Why? Because it has some of the biggest waves ever! These giant waves are perfect for surfing competitions held every winter.
Our friend Wyatt had a great question: “How are waves made in the ocean?” It’s a question that makes you think, right? When I was little, I loved watching waves at the beach. Maybe you’ve seen waves at the ocean or in movies. They seem to come from far away and never stop. But what makes them?
There are lots of things that can make waves. Maybe you thought of boats zooming across the water or big animals like whales and dolphins splashing around. Even underwater earthquakes can make huge waves called tsunamis!
But what about on days when there are no boats, animals, or earthquakes? There are still waves, so what’s causing them?
Here’s a clue: think about a small pond or lake. On a calm day, the water looks smooth like glass. But when the wind blows, the surface gets choppy, and little waves form. It’s like when you splash in the bathtub or throw a rock into a pond. The wind makes ripples that grow into waves.
So, could the wind be making most of the waves in the ocean? Absolutely! On windy days, the waves are bigger. On calm days, they’re smaller. Stronger winds make bigger waves, and that’s something kiteboarders love!
But here’s something cool: even on a calm, windless day at the beach, you can still see waves. Sometimes they’re really big! How does that happen?
Scientists who study the ocean, called oceanographers, discovered that waves can travel from far, far away. They set up special stations on islands to watch the waves. They found out that waves can come from winds thousands of miles away!
Remember those big waves at Waimea Bay? They actually started in Alaska, made by strong winter storm winds. Isn’t that amazing?
Learning that wind makes most ocean waves is just the beginning. There are still many mysteries, like why waves curl and crash on the beach instead of flooding it. The ocean is full of wonders, and there’s so much more to explore!
Thanks to Wyatt for asking such a great question. And guess what? We have more questions to explore next time! You can help us decide by voting on what you want to learn about next. Stay curious, and see you soon!
Wind Experiment: Create your own waves! Fill a shallow tray or a large bowl with water. Use a straw to gently blow across the surface of the water and watch how the water moves. Try blowing harder and then softer to see how the size of the waves changes. Discuss with a friend or family member how this experiment is similar to the way wind creates waves in the ocean.
Wave Observation Walk: Next time you visit a pond, lake, or even a swimming pool, take a moment to observe the water. Notice how the wind affects the surface of the water. Are there any waves? How big are they? If possible, take a small notebook and draw what you see. Think about how this might be similar to the ocean waves you learned about.
Story Time: Imagine you are a wave traveling from Alaska to Hawaii, just like the waves at Waimea Bay. Write a short story or draw a comic strip about your journey. What do you see along the way? How do you feel as you get bigger and bigger? Share your story with your class or family.
Sure! Here’s a sanitized version of the YouTube transcript:
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(phone rings) – Hi, it’s Danni. Check this out. Every year, surfers travel to this beach on the island of Oahu in Hawaii to surf some of the biggest waves in the world. This beach is called Waimea Bay, and it’s famous for having giant waves, which is why so many surf contests are held here every winter. Someone named Wyatt has a question about waves. Let’s give Wyatt a call. (phone ringing) – Hi, Danni. – Hi, Wyatt. – I have a question for you. How are waves made in the ocean? – Ooh, that’s a great question. When I was little, growing up in Florida, I loved going to the beach. I’ve always felt a sense of wonder watching the waves rolling onto the shoreline. Maybe you’ve been to the ocean before, or maybe you’ve seen it in movies or videos. (waves crashing) Watching the waves crash against the shore, you might’ve noticed how they look like they’re traveling toward you from far away and how they don’t ever seem to stop. What do you think makes waves? Where are they coming from? Now would be a good time to pause the video and discuss. Okay. Are you ready? I don’t know exactly how you answered, but I’ll bet you had a bunch of different ideas about what makes waves, like maybe waves are made by boats speeding across the water, or maybe some kind of animal with a powerful tail, like a dolphin or whale, makes it as it swims. (water splashes) You might’ve even thought of something like an underwater earthquake, which can cause a giant wave called a tsunami. And it’s true. All of these things can make waves. But what about those days where there’s no boats, no whales, and no underwater earthquakes? There are still waves happening on those days, too. So what could be causing them? One clue is to look at a much smaller body of water than an ocean, something like a pond or a lake. On a calm day, without any wind blowing, the surface of this lake looks calm and smooth, almost like glass, but on a windy day, watch what happens. (wind whistling) The surface looks choppy, and the water is sloshing all around. And look. There are some little waves. As the wind blows, it breaks up the smooth surface of the lake, creating ripples, kind of like when you jump into a swimming pool or throw a rock on the surface of smooth water. Even splashing in the bathtub makes ripples like these. And when the wind blows, the ripples grow until they become big waves. So could wind be what’s causing most of the waves we see on the ocean? Definitely. If you visit the ocean on a windy day, the waves are probably bigger. On a calm day, the waves are probably smaller. This is because stronger winds make bigger waves, something kiteboarders know all about. But here’s something interesting. If you go to the ocean on a calm, windless day and you stand on the beach, you will still see waves, and sometimes, they might be really big waves. So what’s up with that? Well, scientists who study oceans—called oceanographers—were curious about this as well, so they set up wave observation stations on different islands to track waves, and what they learned was fascinating. They saw that those waves could travel from one side of the world to the other. So when you see waves at a beach on a windless day, those waves could be caused by winds from far away, even thousands of miles away. Do you remember the waves you saw at the beginning of this video in Waimea Bay, Hawaii? Those waves have been traced all the way back to Alaska, created by powerful winter storm winds there. How cool is that? But the discovery that most ocean waves are started by wind is just the beginning. There’s so much more we haven’t answered here, like why do waves start to curl at the top as they get closer to shore, then crash on the beach, instead of flooding the beach? The ocean is such a special place and so filled with mysteries. I hope we can explore those questions and more in a future episode. That’s all for this week’s question. Thanks, Wyatt, for asking it. Now, for the next episode, we reached into our question jar and picked out three questions sent in to us that we’re thinking about answering next. When this video is done playing, you’ll get to vote on one. You can choose from: Could you make a real lightsaber? Why don’t we drink saltwater? Or, how does a car measure the gas in its tank? So submit your vote when the video is over. We want to hear from all of you watching. There are mysteries all around us. Stay curious, and see you next week.
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