WEIRD WAVES & BOOMS

Rogue waves and holes, a mystery within the Sun and puzzling sounds on both US coasts

GOING ROGUE Once considered the mythical stuff of sailor’s yarns, rogue or freak waves entered the realms of respectability in 1984 when one hit the Gorm drilling platform in the North Sea. The first rogue wave to be reliably measured was what is known as the “Draupner Wave” in 1995: that hit 26.5m (87ft) in height in a sea where the average wave height was around 12m (39ft). Since then, several others have been measured, and rogue waves have been defined as any wave with a height more than double that of other waves occurring around them. Now, the most extreme rogue wave ever reported has been measured off the coast of Ucluelet, British Columbia, in Canada. This was 17.6m (57ft 9in) high in a sea with waves averaging 6m…

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Fortean Times (Digital) - 1 Issue, 419

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