Undertow

{
  "id": "MLC-T-ENV-029072",
  "term": "Undertow",
  "field": "Environment",
  "definition": "1. Seaward-directed current generated by water that is receding from the shoreline after wave run up.\n\n2. There is spirited discussion and disagreement among coastal scientists on the existence of a nearshore process called \"undertow,\" and hence there is not an agreed on definition for this word. Undertow is a term often and incorrectly used for rip currents. The best explanation for what many people attribute to \"undertow\" is as follows: After a wave breaks and runs up the beach, most of the water flows seaward; this \"backwash\" of water can trip waders, move them seaward, and make them susceptible to immersion from the next incoming wave; however, there is no surf zone force that pulls people under the water.",
  "references": [
    "Federal Geographic Data Committee Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard, June 2012 FGDC-STD-018-2012",
    "NOAA National Weather Service Rip Current Safety Glossary"
  ],
  "url": "https://mlchart.com/terminology/environment/undertow/"
}