WAVE STEEPNESS 



wave steepness — The ratio of the wave height to 

 wavelength. (73) 



wave-straightened coast — A straight clifled 

 coast which resuhs from wave erosion of liomo- 

 geneous coastal rocks; along a contact between 

 weak and resistant layers forming a hogback 

 coast ; or along a fault with more resistant rocks 

 shoreward forming a fault-line coast. It has a 

 wave-cut beach at the base of the sea cliffs and 

 hanging valleys along the coast. 



wave train — A series of waves moving in the same 

 direction. 



wave trough — The lowest part of a wave form 

 between successive wave crests. Also that part 

 of a wave below still water level. (61) (See 

 figure for wave.) 



wave velocity — 1. The speed at which the individ- 

 ual wave form advances. (73) 



2. A vector quantity that specifies the speed 

 and direction with which a sound wave travels 

 through a medium. (6) 



weathered — Descriptive of ice or rock that has 

 been destroyed or partially destroyed by thermal, 

 chemical, and mechanical processes. 



weathered ice — Hummocked polar ice subjected 

 to weathering which has given the hummocks 

 and pressure ridges a rounded form. If the 

 weathering continues, the surface may become 

 more or less level. (74) 



weathered iceberg — An iceberg which is irregu- 

 lar in shape, due to an advanced stage of abla- 

 tion. It may have overturned. If the weather- 

 ing produces spires or pinnacles, a pinnacled, 

 pyramidal, or irregular iceberg results; if it 

 produces a large U-shaped slot extending 

 through the iceberg, a valley or drydock iceberg- 

 results ; and if it produces a large opening at the 

 water line, extending through the iceberg, an 

 arched iceberg results. (68) 



weather patrol ship — -sVe ocean station vessel. 



weather routing — See optimum ship routing. 



weather ship — See ocean station vessel. 



weed — See seaweed. 



weight crack — See hinge crack. 



Wentworth grade scale — A logarithmic grade 

 scale for size classification of sediment particles, 

 starting at 1 millimeter and using the ratio of 

 1/2 in one direction (and 2 in the other), pro- 

 viding diameter limits to the size classes of 1, 

 1/2, 14, etc., and 1, 2, 4, etc. This was adopted by 

 Wentworth from Udden's scale with slight modi- 

 fication of grade terms and limits. (2) See 

 phi grade scale. 



West Australia Current — The complex current 

 flowing along the west coast of Australia. It 

 flows northward and is stronger during Novem- 

 ber, December, and January; it is weakest and 

 tends to be variable in May, June, and July. It 

 curves toward the west to join the South Equa- 

 torial Current. 



West Greenland Current — The current flowing 

 northward along the west coast of Greenland 



into Davis Strait. It is formed by water of the 

 East Greenland and Irminger Currents. Part 

 of the West Greenland Current turns to the left- 

 when approaching the Davis Strait and joins 

 the Labrador Current flowing southward; the 

 other part continues into Baffin Bay. 



West Ice — 1. The drifting ice of Baffin Bay. 



2. To Norwegians, the drifting ice ofl^ the east 

 coast of Greenland. 

 (59) 



West Wind Drift — (sometimes called Antarctic 

 C Ircumpohr Cui^ent) . The ocean current with 

 the largest volume transport (approximately 

 llOX 10 "^ cubic centimeters per second) ; it flows 

 from west to east around the Antarctic continent 

 and is formed partly by the strong westerly wind 

 in this region and partly by density differences. 



wet density — The ratio of the weight of the solid 

 particles of a bottom sediment and the contained 

 moisture to its total volume. 



wet weight — Quantitative measure of wet plank- 

 ton; the living weight. Although commonly 

 used, this measurement may lead to erroneous 

 results unless all extraneous water is removed by 

 blotting or draining. 



whale — A cetacean. See baleen whale, toothed 

 whale. 



whalebone — See baleen. 



whalebone whale — See baleen whale. 



whirlpool — Water moving rapidly in a circular 

 path ; an eddy or vortex of water. See eddy, 

 gyre. 



whitecap — On the crest of a wave, the white froth 

 caused by wind. (61) 



whitefish — 1. Any of a family Coregonidae of 

 jDredominantly fresh-water fishes. 



2. A menhaden, young bluefish, or whiting. 



3. (chiefly British). Any of several commer- 

 cial fishes, such as cod, halibut, and sole, with 

 white nonoily flesh. 



4. The beluga or white whale. 



white ice — A Russian term for sea ice of 30 to 70 

 centimeters (12.0 to 27.5 inches) in thickness. 



white noise — Noise whose spectrum density (or 

 spectrum level) is substantially independent of 

 frequency over a specified range. ( 6 ) 



whiteout — (also called milky loeather). An at- 

 mospheric optical phenomenon of the polar 

 regions in which the observer appears to be en- 

 gulfed in a uniformly white glow. Neither 

 shadows, horizon, nor clouds ai-e discernible ; 

 sense of depth and orientation is lost; only very 

 dark, nearby objects can be seen. 



Whiteout occurs over an unbroken snow cover 

 and beneath a uniformly overcast sky, when, 

 with the aid of the snow blink effect, the light 

 from the sky is about equal to that from the snow 

 surface. Blowing snow may be an additional 

 cause. 



This phenomenon is experienced in the air as 

 well as on the ground. ( 5 ) 



182 



