Freak waves, also known as rogue waves or monster waves, are relatively large and spontaneous ocean surface waves which can sink even large ships and ocean liners. In oceanography, they are more concisely defined as waves that are more than double the significant wave height (SWH), which is itself defined as the mean of the largest third of waves in a wave record.
The phenomenon of freak waves is still a matter of active research, so it is too early to say clearly what the most common causes are or whether they vary from place to place. The areas of highest predictable risk appear to be where a strong current runs counter to the primary direction of travel of the waves; the area near Cape Agulhas off the southern tip of Africa is one such area. However, since this thesis does not explain the existence of all waves which have been detected, several different mechanisms are likely, with localised variation. Suggested mechanisms for freak waves include the following:
1) Diffractive focusing
2) Constructive interference
3) Focusing by currents
4) Nonlinear effects
5) Normal part of the wave spectrum
6) Wind waves
(for more, see source)
2006-09-22 10:06:41
·
answer #1
·
answered by lufen 3
·
1⤊
0⤋
A rogue wave is a large solitary wave that has no apparent cause. They can occur anywhere, not just in deep water. A few years ago some people were washed off the rocks here, in a location where hundreds of people go every week, when a large wave (not nearly as large as the one in the Poseidon movie) suddenly came up and crashed over the rocks. It was a fairly calm day with waves less than 1 foot high.
One way rogue waves can form is by the coincidence of peaks from several wave systems. On any given day the waves coming ashore on a beach were formed in many different places at many different times. They then travel across the ocean until they reach something that absorbs their energy - like land. Each wave system is made up of a series of alternating crests and troughs, and the crests have a specific height and a specific periodicity, or distance between crests. When a crest from one wave system overlaps the trough of another system there is a cancellation effect on the crest. Its height is reduced. When a crest of one system is superimposed on the crest of another system there is an additive effect. They become one crest with a height roughly equal to the sum of the individual heights of the two crests. This may be only mometary, as one wave system passes through another. A rogue wave may represent the simultaneous superimposition of wave crests from many different wave systems.
2006-09-22 10:14:35
·
answer #2
·
answered by PaulCyp 7
·
0⤊
0⤋
What Causes A Rogue Wave
2016-11-15 09:34:27
·
answer #3
·
answered by gremer 4
·
0⤊
0⤋
While always unexpected, freak waves tend to occur more often in particular areas, such as off the eastern coast of South Africa in the Gulf of Alaska, and off the Florida coast. That has given oceanographers vital clues about their origin. The prevailing theory holds that freak waves can result when strong, high storm waves slam headlong into a powerful current traveling in the opposite direction. The interaction can push together the storm swells, so that their frequencies superimpose, creating one tremendously powerful wave that can reach a height of 100 feet or more. (The "hole in the ocean" describes the deep trough that precedes this steep crest of water.)
2006-09-22 10:05:54
·
answer #4
·
answered by caprilyeous 2
·
0⤊
0⤋
It's that bird off Xmen saying hello.
2006-09-22 10:13:58
·
answer #5
·
answered by Sarah G 3
·
0⤊
2⤋
freaky and unpredictable waves.
2006-09-23 03:02:21
·
answer #6
·
answered by Anonymous
·
0⤊
0⤋