The most unusual killer wave or ninth wave was recorded off the coast of Canada.
Killer waves or the ninth wave are waves that suddenly appear among their own kind and pose a serious danger to ships that are not lucky enough to be nearby. Scientists have confirmed that the new record-breaking wave, the height of a four-story building, which arose off the coast of Canada, is the most extreme ever observed.
& # 171; The height of the killer wave was 17.6 meters. And the height of the waves surrounding it was only 6 meters. And this is probably the most extreme killer wave ever measured. The probability of such a wave occurring is once in 1300 years», says Johannes Gemmrich from the University of Victoria, Canada.
The appearance of this ninth wave off the coast of Vancouver Island, Canada, was recorded back in November 2020, but just now, scientists have provided accurate measurement data as a result of a new study.
Killer waves are very unpredictable and are more than twice the height of the surrounding waves. If a tsunami occurs due to earthquakes, then such waves appear under the influence of strong currents, wind or storms, when individual waves merge into one giant wall of water.
Scientists recorded the first record case of the appearance of such a wave back in 1995 off the coast of Norway. Then the wave was 25.6 meters high, but the height of the other waves did not exceed 12 meters. Although the new record-breaking wave is lower in height, the height of the waves surrounding it was only 6 meters. Therefore, scientists called it the most extreme killer wave.
«This wave was recorded by a marine buoy from the Canadian company MarineLabs, which deployed a network of buoys off the coast of North America to improve the prediction of such events», Gemmrich says.
«These waves are very dangerous for ships and coastal settlements. But our data helps us better understand when, where, and how killer waves form, as well as help us calculate the risks they pose,” says MarineLabs CEO Scott Beatty. There are already 26 sensor buoys, but the number is expected to reach 70 by the end of 2022.
Scientists have created a computer simulation of the appearance of a 17-meter killer wave off the coast of Canada, which can be seen below.
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