Waves are a familiar sight. the awesome power releases a considerable destructive force as they break against a shoreline. Waves are of several different types. They differ in their length - the distance separating wave crests - and their periodicity - the time which separates successive wave crests. Waves are formed when wind energy from the atmosphere is transferred to the surface waters of the ocean, and waves break when they reach shallow depths.
Tidal forces acting on the ocean water masses produce complex standing and rotating wave systems characteristic of each ocean Nodal points occur at the centres of these wave systems and represent the points of least disturbance of the ocean water mass where changes in the vertical height of the sea surface are generally around zero.