r/askscience • u/Exciting-Cheesecake9 • 8h ago
Earth Sciences What is the science behind sandbars?
Ive been surfing fro several years now and ive noticed that theres always multiple sandbars that run parallel to shore. Often they are broken apart perpendicularly by ripcurrents, however they seem to almost always have the same distance between them. Between the sandbars the ocean floor is deeper by several feet. On days where the waves and period are larger a 3rd sandbar will allow waves to break further out due to the waves slowing down as they “feel” the bottom. My question is; does the period dictate the distance between them or is there any math behind it??
Heres a perfect visual:
