British Vessel & Research Team Record Largest Waves Ever Measured

Scientists aboard a research vessel sailing about 150 miles west of Scotland have measured the largest waves ever recorded by a scientific instrument.

The team from Britain's National Oceanography Center recently published a study on ocean waves based on research performed in 2000. Until now, these large waves were thought to appear alone, but the scientists encountered a group of monster waves. This new data, although initially troubling for shipbuilders and those who would go to sea on large ocean vessels, should help perfect computer simulations of this type of phenomena. Computer models currently in use do not allow for waves of such magnitude. Moreover, the data suggests that these large, rogue waves may be more common than previously believed.

The crew of the RRS Discovery went to sea expecting bad weather. In fact, the weather forecast had predicted a particularly violent storm, which the scientists wanted to observe firsthand. The experience exceeded their wildest imagination, and when it was all said and done, they were lucky to have survived the ordeal.

The vessel was rocked by entire sets of waves, some of which were measured to be as high as 30 meters (98 feet) by the recording instruments. The onslaught continued for about 12 hours, leaving a stunned and badly shaken research team.

More important than the record height of these waves was the method by which the waves were generated. The strongest part of the storm was already over when RRS Discovery made its measurements. Rather than the waves being caused by very strong winds, the scientists think a "resonance effect" was responsible for their monstrous size. Simply stated, this means that waves and wind traveled across the Atlantic at virtually the same speed. The storm was able to pump energy into the waves efficiently for a long time, building them up to giant size.

Plugging the new data into the standard formulas indicates that existing computer simulations are not accurate, at least in terms of the formation of giant waves. This has potentially huge implications for safety standards, which are partly based on computer simulations, especially as they apply to the construction of ships and oil rigs.