An increase in frequency will cause an increase in what?

An increase in frequency within the context of wave propagation, particularly in oceanographic and acoustic studies, leads to an increase in absorption. Higher frequency waves tend to be absorbed more readily by the medium through which they travel. As frequency increases, the energy of the waves is absorbed over shorter distances, which can limit the effective range of the signals in applications like sonar or acoustic monitoring.

This phenomenon occurs because higher frequency waves encounter more molecular interactions within the medium (like water), which leads to greater energy loss. For instance, in underwater acoustics, this is significant when considering how sound travels in the ocean, especially in varying temperatures and salinities where absorption characteristics can change.

In contrast, the other aspects mentioned such as velocity, impedance, and reflection behave differently with changes in frequency, making them less related to the direct effect of frequency increase on absorption.