What is the term for the small net transport of water in the direction of a traveling wind wave?

What is the term for the small net transport of water in the direction of a traveling wind wave?

• A. Longshore Current
• B. Coriolis Drift
• C. Stokes Drift
• D. Wave Drift

Answer: (C)

When waves travel, water particles don’t move in perfect closed loops. The motion in a progressive wave is such that the forward movement near the crest isn’t exactly balanced by the backward movement near the trough, leading to a small net transport of water in the direction the wave is traveling. This net forward transport is known as Stokes drift. It is a subtle effect, strongest at the surface and decreasing with depth, so most of the water drift is confined to the upper layer. Longshore current is a driven current along the shore caused by waves hitting at an angle and transferring momentum to the bottom and alongshore boundaries, not the forward drift of water within a single wave. Coriolis effects influence large-scale ocean currents and deflection of moving water, but they describe a different phenomenon than the specific net transport associated with the traveling wave's orbital motion. Wave drift isn’t a standard term, but the correct concept for this net transport in the direction of the wave is Stokes drift.

When waves travel, water particles don’t move in perfect closed loops. The motion in a progressive wave is such that the forward movement near the crest isn’t exactly balanced by the backward movement near the trough, leading to a small net transport of water in the direction the wave is traveling. This net forward transport is known as Stokes drift. It is a subtle effect, strongest at the surface and decreasing with depth, so most of the water drift is confined to the upper layer.

Longshore current is a driven current along the shore caused by waves hitting at an angle and transferring momentum to the bottom and alongshore boundaries, not the forward drift of water within a single wave. Coriolis effects influence large-scale ocean currents and deflection of moving water, but they describe a different phenomenon than the specific net transport associated with the traveling wave's orbital motion. Wave drift isn’t a standard term, but the correct concept for this net transport in the direction of the wave is Stokes drift.