Which scenario describes a surging wave?

• A. Waves created on very steep beaches, the wave builds quickly and expends its energy on the beach.
• B. When the wave encounters a sudden decrease in depth such as a reef or steep rise in the ocean floor.
• C. When wave energy encounters a sloping ocean floor, the crest of white water spreads down the wave face.
• D. When a wave travels long distances without breaking.

Answer: (A)

Surging waves occur when the beach is very steep, so the incoming wave doesn’t form a curling breaker. Instead, the energy is released as a strong uprush of water that runs up the shore, expending its energy on the beach itself. This matches the scenario where the wave builds quickly and pushes energy onto the beach rather than breaking with a visible crest offshore. The other descriptions point to different breaker types or non-breaking conditions: a reef or abrupt depth change tends to produce a breaker with a strong offshore impact; a sloping bottom causes white water to spill down the face; and a wave that travels long distances without breaking is not breaking at all.