Rogue Waves: Although some sailors consider them little more than urban legends, there have been enough reports of rogue waves to know that they pose a real threat to the safety of sailors.Rogue waves seem to appear out of nowhere, and have been reported at times to be over 100 feet high. While mechanical waves can be both transverse and longitudinal, all electromagnetic waves are transverse. The MOON cause waves on the surface of the ocean (and on lakes). They often occur during storms in deep water, far from shore, and are believed to be caused … The gravitational pull of the sun and moon on the earth also causes waves. Wind-driven waves, or surface waves, are created by the friction between wind and surface water. As wind blows across the surface of the ocean or a lake, the continual disturbance creates a wave crest. Waves dissipate for several reasons. The MOON transfers some of its energy to the water, through friction between the air molecules and the water molecules. First, waves in many mediums are "dispersive", meaning that the speed of the wave varies with the frequency (water waves are dispersive, electromagnetic waves in a vacuum are not). Waves are actually energy passing through the water, causing it to move in a circular motion. Longitudinal waves occur when the oscillations are parallel to the direction of propagation. When a wave encounters a surface object, the object appears to lurch forward and upward with the wave, but then falls down and back in an orbital rotation as the wave continues by, ending up in the same position as before the wave came by. Transverse waves occur when a disturbance causes oscillations perpendicular (at right angles) to the propagation (the direction of energy transfer). Waves are most commonly caused by wind.