What is a seiche and how did François-Alphonse Forel study it?

A seiche is a standing wave that occurs in an enclosed or partially enclosed body of water, such as a lake, bay, or harbor. The Swiss hydrologist François-Alphonse Forel promoted the term in 1890 after making the first scientific observations of the phenomenon on Lake Geneva. Forel's pioneering limnological work also helped explain related phenomena like temperature-layer oscillations in the Euripus Strait.

What we know

• A seiche is a standing wave in an enclosed or partially enclosed body of water. [1, 2]
• The term seiche was promoted in 1890 by Swiss hydrologist François-Alphonse Forel, who made the first scientific observations of the effect on Lake Geneva. [2]
• The Swiss-French dialect word likely derives from the Latin word siccus, meaning dry, because the beach dries as the water recedes. [2] · medium confidence
• Forel contributed to understanding the Euripus Strait by discovering how layers of water of differing temperatures oscillate in thickness. [4]

Still open

• While Forel contributed to understanding the oscillations in the Euripus Strait, sources note that the problem there was completely solved only later by D. Eginitis in 1929.

Where to go next

• the bigger pictureWhat is limnology and how did it develop?
• how it workedHow do standing waves form in physics?
• a case in pointWhat causes strong tidal currents in the Euripus Strait?
• whoWho was François-Alphonse Forel?
• what followedWhere can seiches be observed?
• an unexpected connectionHow does a dry Latin root connect to alpine lake waves?The term for an underwater standing wave originates from a Swiss French dialect word derived from the Latin word for dry.

Sources

• [1]seiche (Wikidata Q221076) · CC0 1.0
• [2]Seiche · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [3]François-Alphonse Forel · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [4]Euripus Strait · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [5]Standing wave · CC BY-SA 4.0