-- Laird
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 ...
There are a bunch of YouTube’s of that place, fascinating.
Surf’s Up!
shore break vs an ocean wave; two very different things
That's exactly what I'm saying. And don't call me Shirley!
Prior to that experience, I never would have thought that storms could get that severe in the Mediterranean.
Well she was in NZ.
That’s not a bikini, but anyways, she should be wearing a tarp.
Burkas serve a purpose...................
Better known as the Antarctic Ocean or the Austral Ocean.
Poseidon adventure.
Check your local stations for scheduling.
5.56mm
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.
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”.
Keeping that one around for November's Red Tsunami. Gonna post it on every site infested with shitlib rats, just to hear 'em squeeee.
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
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.
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.
I was thinking global warming...
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.
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