Scientists track subsurface waves the size of skyscrapers

When you think of ocean waves, most people will imagine sitting on a beach watching breakers roll in from the horizon. However a group of scientists from the University of Miami have been tracking waves of a different breed – unseen colossal, skyscraper-tall underwater waves that are present in every one of our oceans.

Subsurface waves, otherwise known as internal waves (IW) are initiated by the effects of Earth’s gravity, and rarely ever break the surface. To understand an IW, imagine separating the ocean into layers of water that get denser and denser as you go farther down. An IW is like a surface wave that occurs on one of the lower strata of the ocean levels.

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Ah yes, I’ve known about internal waves in the ocean since at least the 1980s. The ocean has variations in salinity and temperature, both of which affect density. So you can have a sharp interface between a denser layer below and a less dense layer above, created by methods similar to those of a cold front in the atmosphere. All this has had important implications for submarine operations throughout the cold war, for examples using subsurface ocean waves to hide the movement of submarines.

As stated, the waves are very large and slow. It’s nice to see them being studied properly by scientists (as opposed to by the military).