| Rouge Waves |
There have been reports about huge waves, now known as rogue waves for centuries by sailors. It was thought that these enormous waves were mythical inventions and scientists dismissed the possibility that such huge beasts could exist. In controlled tests they were unable to recreate conditions that could result in one wave becoming so much bigger than the surrounding waves. Therefore if they can't be created or explained then they can't be real.
Eventually the European Space Agency decided to dedicate time to research, data it collected over only three weeks in 2001 found more than 10 individual waves around the globe that more than 25 metres in height. Current designs for ships and oil rigs are intended to withstand waves of 15m.
The following sequence of pictures taken from the bridge of a container ship show them encountering one of these waves. Look at the layout of the containers and the difference in the forward stack in the final picture.
The Queen Elizabeth II was struck by a 95-foot (29-meter) rogue wave in February 1995. Captain Ronald Warwick said "a great wall of water" appeared. "It looked as if we were going into the White Cliffs of Dover.
On Jan. 1 1995 an oil rig in the North Sea was hit by an 85-foot (26-meter) wave. The waves around it were less than half as tall. (A radar device on the North Sea's Goma oilfield counted 466 rogue waves over 12 years.)
In one week during early 2001, two tourist vessels, the Bremen and the Caledonian Star, were smacked by separate 98-foot (30-meter) waves in the South Atlantic while the ships were 620 miles (1,000 kilometers) apart. Windows on the bridge of each ship were broken and the Bremen was disabled and left adrift for about two hours.
The giants often form where normal waves meet strong ocean currents or eddies, the new analysis shows. A current can concentrate wave energy, causing a wave to grow. Also, a series of fast waves can catch a set of slower-moving waves and merge into a single beast.
With the ability to look globally for these waves satellites have proved the existence and abundance which was far greater than anyone imagined. Our understanding of these waves is still limited and the enormous range of factors that create one large wave among many smaller waves may never be something that can be predicted. Studies have shown areas with strong currents and extreme weather have more frequent rogue waves than other areas.
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| Boats and ships that have disappeared all over the world for years, many without sending distress signals which would indicate and sudden and violent end. When this happens the investigation into the loss is generally limited because of the lack of evidence to examine and the shortage of information on exactly where to look. This coupled with the fact that it may be days or longer before the overdue vessel is reported missing makes search and recovery almost impossible. Without doubt many ships and yachts have been lost and will continue to be lost to these rogue monsters of the sea that appear with little or no warning. |
