Ask A Scientist© General Science Archive

name         Jeremy M.
age          40s

Question -   I noted the entry in this archive
concerning rip tides.

I did understand the answer to explain that the rip tide is current,
not a tide per se.

I have further questions, however.

Can a rip tide be accompanied by a strong undertow?

Can a rip tide be triggered by a collapse of narrow width in an
undersea sandbar, which suddenly makes available an egress for a
zone where water is accumulating?  I have heard this line in Florida,
and I do not know whether to credit it or not.

Can a rip tide suddenly occur perpendicular to a long, featureless
stretch of beach?  I have been caught is what seemed to me to be
suddenly appearing currents headed off-shore, and I have noted a
characteristic narrowness to the current, like a slightly churned-up
river, a strange feature appearing "within" the ambient
ater near the
breakers.  But, there were no sudden angles along the beach on those
occasions, just a long stretch of undifferentiated shoreline.  I
wonder whether these currents were rips, or some other phenomenon.
In only one instance were these currents accompanied by an undertow.
In each instance swimming parallel to shore brought me to still water
before I was pulled very far out.

Ugh, reading the "Understanding" I note that questions are
o be appropriate
for K-12.  I do not know that mine is.

Regards,

Jeremy M.
Los Alamos National Laboratory
------------------------------------------------
Dear Jeremy:

This is not really my area, but let me recommend a book to you that you
would probably enjoy reading, and that might even help you with your
specific question.  It is "Waves and Beaches," by Willard Bascom.
Though out of print, it can be ordered used on the internet, or you can
probably find it in a public library.  It is a popular and imaginative
book on oceanography, that has stood the test of time.

Tom Douglas
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