For as long as sailors have set out to sea, they’ve told stories of huge waves that strike unexpectedly. Not just in harbors, but out at sea. Tsunamis are well documented, but they aren’t large at sea. For many years, scientists dismissed these stories of huge waves that come out of nowhere as tall tales.
But with video and modern scientific instruments scientists have been able to confirm their existence. The first documented rogue wave occurred at the Daupner platform in the North Sea. When the average waves in the area were 39ft high, this one was 84 feet high! In 2000, a British research ship sailing west of Scotland measured the largest open ocean waves ever recorded by instruments. At least one wave reached a height of 91 ft.
Discovery Channel has a tv show called Deadliest Catch. In order to film the show, cameras are running on several crab fishing boats for weeks at a time. One of the cameras caught a rogue wave as it hit one of the crabbing boats.
Scientists aren’t certain exactly what causes these huge waves but they have several hypotheses. As time goes by and more research is done, hopefully this question will be answered.
No comments:
Post a Comment