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Monster 78-Foot Wave Recorded in the Southern Ocean
Gizmodo ^ | George Dvorsky

Posted on 05/11/2018 11:09:13 AM PDT by BenLurkin

At 78 feet tall, and churned by a fierce storm, it’s the largest wave ever recorded in the southern hemisphere, New Zealand scientists report.

“This is a very exciting event and to our knowledge it is largest wave ever recorded in the southern hemisphere,” said Tom Durrant, a senior oceanographer with MetOcean Solutions, in a statement. “So, this is a very important storm to capture, and it will add greatly to our understanding of the wave physics under extreme conditions in the Southern Ocean.”

The wave was recorded on the night of May 9 by a MetOcean buoy, which is currently floating in the Southern Ocean near Campbell Island about 430 miles (692 km) south of New Zealand. The wave reached a height of 78 feet (23.8 meters) as a storm rolled through the region. The previous record, also recorded by MetOcean Solutions, was a 63.6-foot (19.4 meter) wave that rolled through the same patch of ocean last year.

The wave was detected by a single solar powered buoy, which samples wave conditions for 20 minutes every three hours. The intermittent sampling is done to conserve energy. During the recording period, the height, period, and direction of each wave is measured, and the data is transmitted to a receiving satellite. Oceanographers with MetOcean Solutions, a subsidiary of the state-owned Meteorological Service of New Zealand (MetService), believe the peak heights of waves were even higher during the storm. Their wave forecast predicted individual waves reaching heights of 82 feet (25 meters).

The Southern Ocean is one of the least-studied areas on Earth. Its persistent and energetic winds make it an “engine room” for wave development, producing waves that traverse the globe, including the iconic surfing waves that reach the California coast.

(Excerpt) Read more at gizmodo.com ...


TOPICS: Science
KEYWORDS: wave
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To: Jim 0216

There are a bunch of YouTube’s of that place, fascinating.


21 posted on 05/11/2018 11:56:23 AM PDT by avenir ("But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine."--Paul to Titus)
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To: BenLurkin

Surf’s Up!


22 posted on 05/11/2018 11:59:02 AM PDT by blueunicorn6 ("A crack shot and a good dancer")
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To: BenLurkin
"I'd hit it."
-- Laird


23 posted on 05/11/2018 12:03:20 PM PDT by Skooz (Gabba Gabba we accept you we accept you one of us Gabba Gabba we accept you we accept you one of us)
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To: Jim 0216

shore break vs an ocean wave; two very different things


24 posted on 05/11/2018 12:08:18 PM PDT by OregonRancher (Some days, it's not even worth chewing through the restraints)
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To: OttawaFreeper
"Surely you are not saying that a wave could just capsize the ship?!?"

That's exactly what I'm saying. And don't call me Shirley!

25 posted on 05/11/2018 12:16:50 PM PDT by Haiku Guy (ELIMINATE PERVERSE INCENTIVES)
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To: BenLurkin
I experienced a 12 Beaufort storm once (winds were over 80 mph, with waves over 30 feet) on a cruise ship (Brilliance of the Seas) in the Mediterranean. It was pretty spectacular, to say the least. The ship handled it fine, and I enjoyed the adventure of it all. Tried to capture video from our balcony on Deck 9, but even that high up there was so much spray in the air that I didn’t dare get near the railing with my camera or it would have been waterlogged in an instant.

Prior to that experience, I never would have thought that storms could get that severe in the Mediterranean.

26 posted on 05/11/2018 12:20:18 PM PDT by noiseman (The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.`)
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To: Kickass Conservative

Well she was in NZ.


27 posted on 05/11/2018 12:21:10 PM PDT by hoosiermama (When you open your heart to patriotism, there is no room for prejudice.DJT)
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To: Red Badger

That’s not a bikini, but anyways, she should be wearing a tarp.


28 posted on 05/11/2018 12:21:12 PM PDT by Carriage Hill
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To: carriage_hill

Burkas serve a purpose...................


29 posted on 05/11/2018 12:30:01 PM PDT by Red Badger (Remember all the great work Obama did for the black community?.............. Me neither.)
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To: gunnyg
Just WTF IS! the so ocean?

Better known as the Antarctic Ocean or the Austral Ocean.

30 posted on 05/11/2018 12:30:56 PM PDT by Bloody Sam Roberts (Get in the Spirit! The Spirit of '76!)
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To: BenLurkin

Poseidon adventure.

Check your local stations for scheduling.

5.56mm


31 posted on 05/11/2018 12:32:19 PM PDT by M Kehoe (THIS SPACE FOR RENT)
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To: gunnyg

Relatively new common core ocean lol... It’s the waters surrounding Antarctica. Brought to you by the folks who took away Pluto as a planet.


32 posted on 05/11/2018 12:36:08 PM PDT by miliantnutcase
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To: OregonRancher

Yup. I don’t exactly know what they mean by the “southern ocean” unless they simply mean all oceans in the southern hemisphere.

The waves below South America circumnavigate the globe without touching land. There have been sightings of 100-foot waves down there. Talks about it in the book, “Two Years Before the Mast”.


33 posted on 05/11/2018 12:53:32 PM PDT by Jim W N (MAGA by restoring the Gospel of the Grace of Christ and our Free Constitutional Republic!)
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To: BenLurkin
This may be the largest one recorded by their equipment, but the largest one reported was by the USS Ramapo back in 1933 at 112 feet.

USS Ramapo sees 112 foot wave

34 posted on 05/11/2018 1:13:34 PM PDT by rlmorel (Leftists: They believe in the "Invisible Hand" only when it is guided by government.)
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To: BenLurkin
Wipe Out!

Keeping that one around for November's Red Tsunami. Gonna post it on every site infested with shitlib rats, just to hear 'em squeeee.

35 posted on 05/11/2018 1:32:45 PM PDT by Noumenon (It isn't racist if it's true, is it?)
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To: Bloody Sam Roberts

Shackelton found out about the Southern Ocean. Amazing story about him sailing to South Georgia Island in one of his lifeboats as he tried to get his crew rescued.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyage_of_the_James_Caird


36 posted on 05/11/2018 1:33:07 PM PDT by freefdny
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To: BenLurkin
When the Malaysian airliner disappeared southwest of Australia several years ago, a You Tube video was posted of a very large tanker-type vessel sailing through a storm in the southern Indian Ocean.

Completely awesome waves!

From memory, the bow of the ship had about 35 feet of free board, and waves were breaking 10 feet over the bow rail, and washing almost half way across the deck to the pilot house, which was at the extreme rear of the vessel.

The ship was unbelievably stable, but that experience had to be really unnerving for the crew.

My step-brother flew off the Eisenhower for 12 years and told me a story about catching a wave broadside in the Atlantic that tipped the ship so far to one side it actually hung there for about 5 seconds before it began to right itself. He said it was the quietest 5 seconds he ever experienced on the ship, followed immediately by the noisiest 60 seconds of whoops and cheering and shouting that he had ever heard.

37 posted on 05/11/2018 3:07:41 PM PDT by zeestephen
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To: zeestephen

Nature is flat out awesome in its power. I can’t even begin to imagine the power it takes to roll a ship that massive to equilibrium where it is balancing right on the edge of capsizing. That is insane. That would be one heck of a thing to see, from high up safely in a chopper or an airplane.

I can say with 100% certainty, had I seen it at its apex of rolling, I would have been flat out certain it was going all the way over. It must have been showing a lot of hull sticking out of the water.


38 posted on 05/11/2018 4:40:48 PM PDT by Freedom_Is_Not_Free (End the Mueller Gestapo now.)
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To: BenLurkin

I was thinking global warming...


39 posted on 05/12/2018 3:10:00 AM PDT by Deplorable American1776 (Proud to be a DeplorableAmerican with a Deplorable Family...even the dog is, too. :-))
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To: Jim 0216

In my youth I body surfed 40 foot waves. If the timing was off I’d go over the crest. It was like falling off a building.

The speed of the waves was incredible, nearly rip my shorts off. I’d have to duck-out 1/2 way into the ride or get caught in the spill and get thumped by the next wave. Very dangerous but very exhilarating.

The best waves always have a strong off-shore wind. Makes them stand up higher, break from the top and slide down the face. The wave pictured has a neutral or slight offshore wind as indicated by the depth of the breaking crest. The spray blow back is mostly from the speed of the wave.


40 posted on 05/12/2018 3:36:42 AM PDT by Justa
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