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	Rip current - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
		A rip current is a strong flow of water returning seaward from the shore.
		The resulting rip current is usually narrow and located in a trench between sandbars, under piers or along jetties.
		Rip currents are stronger when the surf is rough (such as during high onshore winds, or when a strong hurricane is far offshore) or when the tide is low.
	en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Riptide (800 words)

	Howstuffworks "How Rip Currents Work"
		Rip currents are caused by the shape of the shoreline itself, and they may be sudden and unexpected.
		Rip currents may also be referred to as "undertow," which is just as inaccurate.
		Rip currents are terrifying because they catch you off guard: One minute you're bobbing along peacefully in the surf, the next you're being dragged out to sea at top speed.
	science.howstuffworks.com /rip-current.htm (1455 words)

	NSF Proposal- Rip Currents
		Rip currents return the water transported shoreward by waves and, under certain conditions of nearshore slope and wave activity, rip currents are the primary agent for the seaward transport of water and sediments.
		Rip currents are usually narrow (10-20 m in the alongshore direction) and generally span the entire water column, however, offshore of the surf zone they tend to be confined near the surface (Shepard et al., 1941).
		Current measurements are most favorable within in the vicinity of rip currents, due to the reduction in wave heights by the wave-current interactions.
	www.oc.nps.navy.mil /~thornton/ripex/ripex.htm (5497 words)

	Rip Current Characteristics
		Rip currents can also result from a wave’s natural variability or when a current traveling along the shoreline encounters a structure such as a groin or jetty and is forced offshore.
		Rip current strength and speed is variable, and the velocities of some of the daily rip currents may be too slow to be a threat to many swimmers.
		Although rip currents are not caused by tides, the water level (tide elevation) at the coast may have an impact on rip current speed and strength.
	www.ocean.udel.edu /ripcurrents/characteristics (2134 words)

	United States Lifesaving Association's - Rip Current Glossary
		Longshore current: A current located in the surf zone, moving generally parallel to the shoreline, generated by waves breaking at an angle with the shoreline, also called the alongshore current.
		Rip currents form as waves disperse along the beach causing water to become trapped between the beach and a sandbar or other underwater feature.
		A distinctly separate type of current includes both ebb and flood tidal currents that are caused by egress and ingress of the tide through inlets and the mouths of estuaries, embayments and harbors.
	www.usla.org /ripcurrents/glossary.asp (857 words)

	NWS Rip Current Awareness Home Page
		Rip currents are powerful, channeled currents of water flowing away from shore.
		The goal of the awareness campaign and research is to reduce the number of rip current related fatalities.
		A daily rip current outlook is included in the Surf Zone Forecast, which is issued by many National Weather Service offices.
	www.ripcurrents.noaa.gov (386 words)

	UF RESEARCH: RIP CURRENTS MAY HANG AROUND FOR WEEKS, MONTHS (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-16)
		Rip currents typically occur as water pushed between a sandbar and the beach rushes seaward through a channel in the bar.
		The new findings suggest that certain parts of the shoreline may be more prone to rip currents than others, and that once coastal engineers know more about the ingredients of a dangerous rip current they may be able to predict when one will occur, the researchers said.
		With a total of 30 and 29 rip current-related drownings between 1989 and 1999, Dade and Volusia counties, respectively, had the highest rip current mortality rates.
	www.napa.ufl.edu /2000news/rips.htm (690 words)

	Rip Currents: Minnesota Sea Grant (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-16)
		Rip currents are formed when waves break near the shoreline, piling up water between the breaking waves and the beach.
		There are several visual clues to spotting rip currents: A break in the incoming wave pattern, a channel of churning, choppy water, a channel with a different water color, or foam or objects moving steadily away from shore.
		Rip currents often form either at breaks in a sand bar, or cause a break (or “rip”) in a sand bar.
	www.seagrant.umn.edu /rip (775 words)

	Rip Currents 2002 (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-16)
		Most rip current drownings are caused by people who eventually become tired and go under the water after struggling against the seaward pull of rip currents.
		Another means of escape is to stay calm and let the rip current pull you away from shore until the current weakens-usually a distance of only about 100 yards-then swim toward the shore at an angle away from the rip current.
		The “neck” of the rip current (A) is where the current is narrowest and fastest, while the “head” (B) is where the current broadens and slows.
	www.floridadisaster.org /hwaw/day4/rip_current.htm (688 words)

	Psyched - The Rip Current by Allan Kopel (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-16)
		Psyched - The Rip Current by Allan Kopel
		A rip current is a section of water (common in the ocean) that moves away from shore rapidly and forcefully.
		The trick is to swim at an angle to the rip current, usually parallel to shore.
	www.psychedonline.org /Articles/Vol5Iss1/TheRipCurrent.htm (794 words)

	Hazardous Weather: Rip Currents (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-16)
		Rip currents, commonly called rip tides and incorrectly called undertows, are caused by a variety of weather conditions.
		A rip current is like a shallow river or channel of water on the surface of the ocean.
		Rip currents are strong, and can pull you out away from the shore even if you are a good swimmer.
	www.floridadisaster.org /HWA/rip_currents.htm (988 words)

	UF researchers developing more accurate method to predict rip currents
		Rip currents occur when water pushed between a sandbar and the beach rushes seaward through a channel in the bar.
		Rip currents, which cause about 150 deaths nationally each year, killed an average of 19 people annually in Florida between 1989 and 1999, according to a study by the National Weather Service's East Central Florida Rip Current Program.
		However, most people caught in rip currents are rescued — and nowhere more than in Volusia County on Florida's east coast, where the UF researchers gathered their data.
	www.eurekalert.org /pub_releases/2003-05/uof-urd052103.php (932 words)

	National Weather Service Forecast Office Miami-South Florida
		Another means of escape is to stay calm and let the rip current pull you away from shore until the current weakens - usually a distance of only about 100 yard - then swim toward shore at an angle away from the rip current.
		While swimming in Florida’s waters, always be aware that rip currents are present and that by staying calm, you can enjoy the surf and beaches all summer long.
		Rip currents, commonly called rip tides and erroneously called undertows, are caused by many weather conditions.
	www.srh.noaa.gov /mfl/newpage/rip_current_safety.html (481 words)

	Beach & Water Safety
		A rip current is a seaward moving current that circulates water back to sea after it is pushed ashore by waves.
		Rip currents also exist in areas where the strength of the waves are weakened by objects such as rock jetties, piers, natural reefs, and even large groups of bathers.
		Rip currents are not directly associated with tides and they do not pull people under.
	www.sandiego.gov /lifeguards/safety/bchsafe.shtml (442 words)

	Rip Currents:
		Rip currents most typically form at low spots or breaks in sandbars, and also near structures such as groins, jetties and piers.
		Rip currents are often not readily or easily identifiable to the average beachgoer.
		A rip current consists of three parts: the feeder current flowing parallel to the shore inside the breakers; the neck, where the feeder currents converge and flow through the breakers in a narrow band or "rip"; and the head, where the current widens and slackens outside the breaker line.
	www.town.ocean-city.md.us /ocbp/information/Rip_Currents2.htm (1990 words)

	LiveScience.com - The Ocean’s Deadliest Trick
		That makes rip currents, also known as rip tides or undertows, a much bigger threat than sharks, which are widely feared but only kill about six people a year worldwide.
		A common perception is that rip currents pull you underwater, but in reality they're roughly horizontal currents that gradually suck you further and further from the beach.
		A rip current is like a giant water treadmill that you can't turn off, so it does no good to try and swim against it.
	www.livescience.com /forcesofnature/050712_rip_currents.html (807 words)

	USATODAY.com - Swimmers run rip-current risks (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-16)
		But beachgoers' biggest risk this summer might be "rip currents" — such as those that claimed at least eight lives along the Florida Panhandle last weekend.
		Rip currents accounted for almost 23,000 of 71,000 lifeguard rescues in 2000, the latest year figures are available from the United States Lifesaving Association.
		He disappeared in a rip current, becoming the third such victim along the San Mateo County coastline in a year.
	www.usatoday.com /weather/news/2003-06-11-florida-riptides_x.htm (859 words)

	Rip Current Research
		The results of the study included information demonstrating that rip currents may persist for weeks or months at the same location along a coast, and that certain parts of a shoreline may be more prone to rip current development than others.
		Their findings showed that the frequency of rip current rescues increased when waves approached the shore straight on (shore normal wave incidence as opposed to waves coming in at an angle), and at mid-low tidal stages.
		Rip current video tracking and nearshore circulation cell development are also a focus of research being conducted at the University of Delaware’s Center for Applied Coastal Research wave tank in coordination with Dr. Kevin Haas and graduate students.
	www.ocean.udel.edu /ripcurrents/Research (3096 words)

	Hazardous Weather - Rip Currents (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-16)
		The upturn in rip current deaths is consistent with an apparent 10-year cycle of Florida rip current drownings.
		Two years after that incident, Bill was able to save a man who was struggling in a rip current by pushing him parallel toward the shore, away from the seaward pull.
		Figure B shows that the rip current forms a narrow channel through the sand bar — usually no more than 20 yards wide — where the water rushes seaward.
	www.floridadisaster.org /hwa03/printer_rip_current.htm (656 words)

	The Delaware Coast
		Rip currents are usually narrow (50-100 feet in the alongshore direction), may extend 1,000 feet offshore, and generally span the entire water column.
		The water begins flowing laterally along the beach (longshore current), and a low spot in the nearshore topography or a break in an offshore sand bar allows the water to move seaward as a rip current.
		It was determined that the frequency of rip current rescues increased during conditions of: 1) shore-normal wave incidence, 2) mid-low tidal stages, 3) deep water wave heights of 0.5 to 1.0 meters, and 4) wave periods from 8 to 10 seconds (Engle et al., 2002).
	www.ocean.udel.edu /mas/wcarey/monthlyquestions/July.html (1553 words)

	Scientist participates in rip current awareness campaign
		At least 100 persons die from rip currents each year and it is estimated that 80 percent of all lifeguard rescues on surf beaches are the result of swimmers unable to escape a rip current, Carey said.
		Rip current speeds can vary from moment to moment and have been measured as fast as eight feet per second, which is faster than an Olympic swimmer can sprint, she said.
		Rip currents are dangerous because they pull people away from shore, Carey said, advising that if you are caught in a rip current, it is important to stay calm and to avoid fighting the current.
	www.udel.edu /PR/UDaily/2004/launch052404.html (447 words)

	Rip Current Headlines
		Unfortunately, there are still rip current related drownings in east central Florida, though the average number has decreased since the inception of the rip current outlooks.
		The statements, according to the Beach Patrol, have triggered a heightened awareness of the rip current danger to the beach-going public.
		The deadly currents are the country's leading cause of ocean drownings and rescues and if engineers can learn how to predict them it may soon be safer to go in the ocean.
	www.srh.noaa.gov /ripcurrents/headlines.shtml (1229 words)

	East Central Florida Rip Current Program
		Rip currents are narrow channels of water flowing out past the surf zone that can pull even strong swimmers into deep water beyond the offshore sand bar.
		Therefore, rip currents, on average, result in more deaths in Florida than hurricanes, tropical storms, tornadoes, severe thunderstorms and lightning combined.
		The number of rip current rescues varies for each coastal county across east central Florida.
	www.srh.noaa.gov /mlb/ripinit.html (579 words)

	NOAA weather service, Sea Grant Program offer rip current safety information
		For rip current forecasts for Pender, New Hanover and Brunswick counties in North Carolina, and the Myrtle Beach, S.C. area, go to http://nwsilm.wilmington.net and follow the rip currents link.
		Florida Sea Grant is currently funding research at the University of Florida to develop a database of rip currents, and hopes from that to develop and test a predictive model within the next two years.
		Your chances of surviving a rip current or any swimming experience are drastically improved by staying calm and maintaining your ability to assess the situation.
	www.eurekalert.org /pub_releases/2001-05/NSGC-NwsS-2405101.php (1264 words)

	NOAA News Online (Story 2229)
		At a news conference in Wrightsville, N.C., officials from NOAA, the U.S. Lifesaving Association, public officials and rip current researchers joined a family that had been devastated by a rip current-related death to call attention to this important national issue.
		On average, more people die every year by rip currents than to shark attacks or weather-related deaths, such as tornadoes, lightning, hurricanes or flooding,” said retired Navy Vice Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Ph.D., undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator.
		All of the communications tools call attention to how to identify rip currents, what to do when you see warning signs, how to avoid becoming a victim, what to do if you get caught in a rip current and how to help others who are caught.
	www.noaanews.noaa.gov /stories2004/s2229.htm (700 words)

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