Rogue Waves:
Researchers have developed a new tool that can be used to predict the emergence of unusually large and unpredictable waves at sea—known as rogue waves.
- Rogue waves are also known as Freak waves and are relatively rare, large and spontaneous ocean surface waves whose heights are larger than maximum wave height expected for a given sea state.
- These are formed from the coincidental stacking of multiple wind-driven wave crests passing through a single point or arising from a combination of waves
- Rogue waves tower to heights greater than twice the size of nearby waves, and they may move in either the same direction, the opposite direction, or at oblique angles to the prevailing wind and wave motion.
- They have been observed all over the world ocean and their characteristics are studied in the Mediterranean sea, the Pacific, the Atlantic, and some parts of the Indian Ocean.
- They are very unpredictable, and often come unexpectedly from directions other than prevailing wind and waves.
- The generation of freak waves is not only restricted to the open ocean, but also observed in the near-shore area, where these sudden waves cause damage to coastal structures and danger for small fishing boats.
- They look like “walls of water.” They are often steep-sided with unusually deep troughs.
