Wind wave may be written as: where C is speed (in meters per second), g is the acceleration due to gravity, and d is the depth of the water (in meters). The period of a wave remains unchanged regardless of the depth of water through which it is moving. As deep-water waves enter the shallows and feel the bottom, however, their speed is reduced and their crests "bunch up," so their wavelength shortens. As waves travel from deep to shallow water, their shape alters (wave height increases, speed decreases, and length decreases as wave orbits become asymmetrical). This process is called shoaling.
Mechanical wave vibrate parallel to the direction of the wave. It consists of multiple compressions and rarefactions. The rarefaction is the farthest distance apart in the longitudinal wave and the compression is the closest distance together. The speed of the longitudinal wave is increased in higher index of refraction, due to the closer proximity of the atoms in the medium that is being compressed. Sound is considered a longitudinal wave. This type of wave travels along a surface that is between two media. An example of a surface wave would be waves in a pool, or in an ocean, lake, or any