Sunday, November 13, 2011

Science and trash

I  had to go to the store for some vittles this evening, so I took a short side trip to one of my favorite spots along the Ohio River on the way. I was looking at various things when I noticed the waves breaking on shore near me. The wind was coming diagonally from the river, toward me with the dropoff in front of me.

As I stood there, I watched the waves pushed by the wind until they grew higher and broke. Then I remembered how a wave in water will move until it comes to a spot where the depth of the water is less than the amplitude of the wave. When that happens, the wave breaks. So even though the water was muddy, I could locate the dropoff at this spot by watching the waves.

 And while I was there, I looked at some of the litter in the water. You can tell a lot about the people who frequent a spot by the litter they leave behind. For example, on the road where I live, people drink a lot of Wendy's soft drinks, bottled water and Bud Light. At this spot on the river, they forget the Wendy's and the water and drink plenty of alcohol while they fish, although some litterbugs enjoy local soft drink refreshments.



1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I can add something to the trash list.I am seeing an increase of syringes wash up on the shore. Since I retired I spend a lot of time during the summer months fishing and driftwood hunting along the river bank. Its just another hazard to watch for when setting minnow traps or going thur a drift pile.I do cover several miles of shoreline with my boat.Some days I will spend all day fishing and hunting driftwood. Growing up on the riverbank and working on the river I never dreamed the river would become a dump to some people.Just the sign of the times we live in, I guess.