what deterimes ocean waves?

Answer 1

Wind speed and direction.

Out in the deep blue sea, they are swells. As they come to shore and shallower water, the bottom acts as friction causing the bottom of the swell to slow down while the top remains the same speed until it breaks into a wave!

PS
Don't drink the water. Fish poop in it

Answer 2

Ocean waves are mechanical waves that propagate along the interface between water and air; the restoring force is provided by gravity, and so they are often referred to as surface gravity waves. As the wind blows, pressure and friction forces perturb the equilibrium of the ocean surface. These forces transfer energy from the air to the water, forming waves. In the case of monochromatic linear plane waves in deep water, particles near the surface move in circular paths, making ocean surface waves a combination of longitudinal (back and forth) and transverse (up and down) wave motions. When waves propagate in shallow water, (where the depth is less than half the wavelength) the particle trajectories are compressed into ellipses. As the wave amplitude (height) increases, the particle paths no longer form closed orbits; rather, after the passage of each crest, particles are displaced a little forward from their previous positions, a phenomenon known as Stokes drift.

Answer 3

Trade Winds

Answer 4

waves away from the beach are caused by tides and wind. The waves at the shore are caused by wind and tides, but crest and break when the water depth is about 1.3 the height of the wave.

Answer 5

The wind i would assume

Answer 6

tides...caused by the moon's gravitational pull on the earth

Answer 7

wind speed, direction, area it blows, & how long it blows.