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the ocean |
The Forces
of the Ocean
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The ocean is constantly moving, stirred up by powerful natural forces which shape and form the coasts, whether they are hard rock or soft sand. Continually stirred up by the strong sea winds and gravitational pull of the moon, waves rush towards shores to crash against them and, over years and decades and centuries, erode them away. And sometimes the gentle lapping tides bring in sand and brought from far away, reshaping and even adding to coasts. The forces of the ocean, on occasion, turn violent. Great cyclones, hurricanes and stormwinds can form over large masses of water and travel onto land, wreaking destruction upon Man's property and hard-built shelters. These storms are destructive enough to cause massive damage to even more modern structures; even if they do not destroy buildings, there is always everything else which is unprotected. Crops are at serious threat: a sweeping hurricane can destroy a harvest. But human lives are also directly at stake.
Tsunamis
are just as, if not more destructive as storms. Caused by the abovementioned
stormwinds or seaquakes, they rush onto shores, sweeping away property,
flooding farmlands and plantations, smashing down buildings and drowning
people. Tidal waves cause massive damage because of their great force; they
can totally demolish short buildings and submerge entire islands. Usually
few people living by the coast survive. There is no foolproof way of preventing
wave damage; all we can do is try to reduce the force of the wave by building
breakers and other barriers.
Tsunamis are huge ocean waves caused by undersea earthquakes. The quaking of the seabed can cause massive displacement of water, sending a shockwave that can travel through kilometres of seawater to crash onto a hapless coast. They are commonly referred to by the misnomer 'tidal wave'.
Waves
also affect coasts more gently; their continuous rushing onto shore slowly
but surely wears down rock and sand, carrying fragments and particles away.
Soon, rock becomes smooth, and when there are many rocks on a coast, they
become smooth round stones, and eventually are eroded into sand.
The forces of the ocean are indeed powerful, threatening our property, food and very lives, while eroding and forming coasts in their gentler form.
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