Other editions of book Waves and Beaches: The Dynamics of the Ocean Surface

Is there anyone who can watch without fascination the struggle for supremacy between sea and land? "The sea attacks relentlessly, marshaling the force of its powerful waves against the land's strongest points. It collects the energy of distant winds and transports it across thousands of miles of open ocean as quietly rolling swell. On nearing shore this calm disguise is suddenly cast off, and the waves rise up in angry breakers, hurling themselves against the land in final furious assault. Turbulent water, green and white, is flung against the sea cliffs and forced in the cracks betwee the rocks to dislodge them. When the pieces fall, the churning water grinds them against each other to form sand; the sand already on the beach melts away before the onslaught.... The two combatants-waves and beaches- are the heroes of this book" From back cover of the book. Willard Bascom is President of Ocean Science and Engineering, Inc. and has worked as an oceanographic engineer since 1945. He was the Director of the Monhole Project for the National Academy of Science and has also been Executive Secretary of the Maritime Research Advisory Commitee of the National Academy of Science. Mr. Bascom is the author of A hole in theBottom of the Sea, the story of the Mohole Project