Photo credit: www.wallpaperawesome.com
The breathtaking wave in the image above is nothing compared to the 1,000-foot waves that roll under the surface of the sea everyday.
That’s right, waves taller than skyscrapers move throughout the world’s oceans on a daily basis delivering nutrients to animals and continuously mixing the waters.
The real mystery of these waves is what happens to the energy when the ‘crash’ underwater?
Internal waves move just like above surface waves but they move slower.
The wavelength between crests is about 100 miles, and they’re moving at jogging speed.” – Robert Pinkel, professor of oceanography at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego
Photo credit: www.dailymail.co.uk
Places were there are active internal waves are often the healthiest locations. That is why researchers and scientists began studying these waves in the Tasman Sea.
The waves are formed when water passes by the Macquarie Ridge off of New Zealand’s southern coast. From there, the waves travel approximately 1,500 miles and slam into the continental shelf, or base, of the island of Tasmania.
Photo credit: www.dailymail.co.uk
The researches will use ‘deep-diving gliders’ along with 15 deep sea moorings (anchored cables with many data collecting sensors) to study the affects of internal waves. The information and knowledge gained from these observations will increase the accuracy of climate modeling.
The importance of this research lies in understanding how different waters of the ocean are mixed together.” – Dr Robert Hall, a physical oceanography lecturer at the University of East Anglia (UEA)
Read more on the story at www.dailymail.co.uk.