Particle movement in deep and shallow water waves. The diagrams use vertical exaggeration for clarity. First diagram: deep water waves. Second diagram: shallow water waves.

In deep water waves particles move on circles, in shallow water waves particles move on very flat ellipses. Particle movement decreases rapidly (exponentially) with depth in deep water waves but remains essentially the same over the entire water depth in shallow water waves.

In both cases, particles under wave crests move in the direction of wave propagation; particles under wave troughs move against the direction of wave propagation.

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