Practice question
What is the fundamental difference between 'Wind Sea' (Mar de viento) and 'Swell' (Mar de leva / Mar de fondo), and which scale is used in Chilean maritime bulletins to classify the sea state (e.g. Marejada, Mar Gruesa)?
- Wind Sea is generated by local winds blowing in the immediate area; Swell consists of regular, long-period waves generated by distant weather systems that have traveled out of their generating area; classified using the Douglas Sea Scale
- Wind Sea is caused by underwater earthquakes; Swell is caused by vessel wakes; classified by the Richter scale
- Wind Sea occurs only at night; Swell occurs only during high tide; classified by the Kelvin scale
- Wind Sea has a period of over 20 seconds; Swell has a period of under 2 seconds; classified by the Fujita scale
Answer: A — Wind Sea is generated by local winds blowing in the immediate area; Swell consists of regular, long-period waves generated by distant weather systems that have traveled out of their generating area; classified using the Douglas Sea Scale
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