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I'm presently teaching the refraction of a water wave but I have not
come across a good explanation of why a water wave travels faster in
deep water. Can anyone provide me with a Web link or a few hints.
I'm unable to cite a source now, but I recall learning that particles of
water on the surface travel along the path of a vertical ellipse as a
wave passes by. Particles of water below the surface travel in similar,
but not identical, elliptical patterns that depend of the depth of the
water where the particles are located. Where the water is shallow,
particles encounter friction with the bottom and delay the speed of the
wave up to the surface.