Rip Currents
Rip Currents
Rip currents are responsible for about 150 deaths every year in the United States. In Florida, they kill more people annually than thunderstorms, hurricanes and tornadoes combined. They are the number-one concern for beach lifeguards: About 80 percent of all beach rescues are related to rip currents. Despite these startling statistics, many swimmers dont know anything about rip currents, and they have no idea how to survive when caught in one. In this research paper I will discuss what causes rip currents, how you can recognize them and what you should do if one takes you out to sea (
Channel of churning, choppy water
Area having a notable difference in water color
Line of foam, seaweed, or debris moving steadily seaward
Break in the incoming wave pattern
One, all or none of the clues may be visible. (
There have been research studies done on rip currents to better understand them. One study in particular was done in Gainsville, Florida by two doctoral students. For the study, Dean and Jamie MacMahan, a UF doctoral student in civil and coastal engineering, analyzed thousands of time-elapsed photos of a rip current-prone section of the beach on North Carolina’s Outer Banks. Shot hourly for 2Ѕ years from a 100-foot tower at a federal research facility, the photos revealed dark swaths of the ocean the researchers tied to rip currents. The