Record-breaking 'rogue wave' spotted off the coast of Vancouver Island

Figure 1. Rogue wave recorded on Nov 17, 2020. Vertical dashed lines indicate the wave

 group containing the rogue wave. (a) Surface elevation ηη. (b) Spectrogram of surface

 elevation using the Morlet wavelet. Credit: DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-05671-4

A pair of researchers at the University of Victoria, have confirmed the observation of a record breaking "rogue wave" off the coast of Vancouver Island two years ago. In their paper published in the journal Scientific Reports, Johannes Gemmrich and Leah Cicon describe data they analyzed from a buoy anchored off Vancouver Island.

Rogue waves are a type of wave with a crest disproportionately higher than the waves around it. Though sometimes confused with tsunamis, rogue waves are quite different. They are thought to be generated by winds, whereas tsunamis are generally created by geologic events such as earthquakes. Also, rogue waves reach their heights out at sea, whereas the size of a tsunami is generally not seen until it encounters land. In this new effort, the research pair studied data from one of the buoys stationed off the coast of Canada near Vancouver Island. Such buoys alert ships to unusual sea conditions. The rogue wave under study had first been observed shortly after it occurred, back in November 2020. In this new effort, the researchers took a closer look at the data sent from the buoy to confirm the initial findings.

They found that the buoy had measured a wave that was 17.6 meters high, while the waves around it were averaging just 6 meters high. Records for such waves are represented as the proportion of the difference in height between the rogue wave and those around it. The proportion in this instance set a new record for largest ever observed.

Ocean scientists are still trying to figure out how rogue waves get their start, how they grow so large, and how long they are able to maintain their height. Understanding them is important because rogue waves tend to surprise crew aboard ships, which means they typically do not have time to take such actions as changing the heading of a ship to steer directly into the wave. Without such information, a large rogue wave can capsize a ship, putting its crew in serious danger.

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More information: Johannes Gemmrich et al, Generation mechanism and prediction of an observed extreme rogue wave, Scientific Reports (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-05671-4

Journal information: Scientific Reports 

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