Walloping waves.Sailors have long told tales of 10-story-tall waves rising from calm seas. Now, scientists have finally proved these walls of water exist. Using satellites (objects orbiting Earth that send and receive signals), the European Space Agency European Space Agency (ESA), multinational agency dedicated to the promotion, for exclusively peaceful purposes, of cooperation among European states in space research and technology. snapped pictures of the ocean surface for three weeks. Scientists analyzed the images to detect rogue waves rogue wave n. An unpredictable, abnormally large wave that occurs on a seemingly random basis in the oceans. (waves much larger than surrounding waves). They spotted 10 waves over 25 meters (82 feet) tall. Turns out, the giants often appear near strong ocean currents. There, smaller swells may combine into an oversize o·ver·size n. 1. A size that is larger than usual. 2. An oversize article or object. adj. o·ver·size also o·ver·sized Larger in size than usual or necessary. Adj. 1. wave, says Wolfgang Rosenthal, a wave scientist at Germany's GKSS GKSS Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Kernenergie in Schiffbau und Schiffstechnik (German: society for the promotion of the nuclear energy in shipbuilding and naval technology) Research Center. Rosenthal hopes to better predict where and when the ship-sinkers occur. Then, sailors can avoid wave-prone areas. Here's to smooth sailing. |
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