» kris

Internal waves offer long rides

kris — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 01:39:24 +0000

Wow, it’s been over a year since my last post. Honestly, I just haven’t seen much worth posting until today.

Here’s a pretty cool article that sheds some light on internal waves. These are waves that can occur deep in the ocean or in the atmosphere and are often invisible to the untrained eye despite their colossal size (a single wave can span over 1,000 km). Researchers have found that internal waves typically form when large regions of moving water (or air) encounter some sort of an obstacle, typically a mountain.

In the ocean tides can move large regions of water. When this water encounters an underwater mountain, it causes a wave to form. In the following photo you can see an internal wave passing through the Strait of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean Sea.

Internal waves form in the atmosphere when a large region of air is forced against a mountain. When a plane encounters an atmospheric wave, it can gain or lose altitude very rapidly (2,000 ft in 15 seconds). That’s pretty freaky when you consider the fact that you can’t necessarily know that you’re going to encounter an atmospheric internal wave ahead of time. But some atmospheric waves are actually visible, like this picture of morning glory clouds. It stands to reason that you could potentially catch one of these waves and ride it, maybe not with a surf board, but with a glider. Because a single wave can span over 1,000 km, that would be one long ride. Paddling back to the peak would be a drag.

Link

Seismologists say the surf’s up across the globe

kris — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 23:57:50 +0000

When waves crash on the shore they actually create vibrations in the Earth that can be detected by seismometers and used to determine the power of the waves. Seismologists have been archiving this data from 22 locations across the world for decades. Recently, a researcher noticed a trend in the data indicating that the overall power of waves worldwide is on the rise. This trend is consistent with the prediction that storms will increase in size and power as a result of global warming. Link

It should come as no surprise that on January 5th of this year Mike Parsons set a new record for the biggest wave ever ridden when Brad Gerlach towed him into a 70ft+ bomb at the Cortes Bank. And it should come as no surprise when that record gets broken.

Surfboards that require no waves

kris — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 15:21:11 +0000

Check out these jet-powered surfboards from MonoJet and PowerSki. Gives new meaning to the term “power surfing”. All kidding aside they do look like fun.

The creator of MonoJet, Egon Monostory, claims that the MonoJet surfboard is the lightest, fastest jet-powered surfboard on the market and is capable of speeds up to 40 mph. Apparently it’s not that easy to get a MonoJet board, though, because Egon will only make one for you if he likes you.

I wonder how long it’ll be before we see surfers using self-propelled surfboards for catching and riding big waves. It stands to reason that a self-propelled surfboard could eliminate the need to have a tow-in partner, although, I do think that if you’re in the water when there are waves of consequence, it’s a good idea to have someone out there with a JetSki for rescue situations.

Thanks, InventorSpot

Shark eats anti-shark device

kris — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 02:30:33 +0000

The folks at SharkShield must be feeling pretty disappointed right now. Recently, while testing one of their anti-shark devices in the shark-infested waters of South Africa, a shark actually attacked and ate the device. I can only imagine the looks on their faces when it happened.

This spectacular product failure has fueled speculation that the electrical fields, that serve as the basis for SharkShield’s shark-repelling technology, may actually attract sharks and compel them to attack. The company claims that their shark-repelling technology works fine when you’re stationary, but not so much when you’re paddling or riding a wave. Since roughly 52% of a surfer’s time in the water is spent either paddling or riding waves, I’d say it’s a safe play to avoid using the SharkShield device. Link

New radar satellite technique enables near real-time global swell wave observations

kris — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 04:28:50 +0000

The European Space Agency (ESA) is employing a new technique (based on the same principle as police speed-measuring radar guns) that uses satellite radar data to measure the speed of the moving surface of the ocean. Using this new technique the ESA is able to generate Near Real Time global swell animations.

I’m not an expert on the subject, but it stands to reason that the ESA’s swell animations ought to be more accurate than NOAA’s Wave Watch III (WWIII) animations, which are based on modeled data as opposed to actual wave measurements. Although the WWIII model still has its merits when it comes to predicting future swell movements, it’ll be interesting to see if and how the ESA’s new method of measuring the ocean’s current surface conditions makes its way into the world of surf forecasting.

Link

Surfer may have found the key to the universe

kris — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 18:55:36 +0000

Check out this story about a surfer named Garrett Lisi, who recently stunned the physics community by offering a new “theory of everything” that explains how the universe works. The fact that a surfer is gaining respect from the physics community is pretty cool. Even cooler, though, is the fact that Garrett is not a professional physicist (neither was Albert Einstein) – he contemplates the physical model of the universe as a hobby – yet his theory has grabbed everyone’s attention.

Lisi’s idea is based on an extraordinarily complicated geometric shape called E8, an eight-dimensional shape with 248 points – a pattern he thinks may describe the underlying geometry of the universe itself. The myriad of different particles and forces we perceive would then stem from this shape’s weirdly symmetric geometry.

I can’t help but wonder what would happen if we did find the key that unlocks the universe. What would matter anymore? Would we all still have to go to work?

Freakish Sea Foam

kris — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 17:15:21 +0000

Recent storms off the east coast of Australia literally whipped up freakish amounts of sea foam that ultimately made its way to shore north of Sydney.

Scientists explain that the foam is created by impurities in the ocean, such as salts, chemicals, dead plants, decomposed fish and excretions from seaweed. All are churned up together by powerful currents which cause the water to form bubbles. These bubbles stick to each other as they are carried below the surface by the current towards the shore. As a wave starts to form on the surface, the motion of the water causes the bubbles to swirl upwards and, massed together, they become foam.

Here’s a link to the story.

I’d say these waves are well overhead

kris — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 17:30:38 +0000

Earlier this month giant waves were photographed moving across the skies over Iowa. They’re a natural phenomenon called “undular bore waves”.

When you look at them on a satellite image, they kinda resemble a WWIII wave period animation.

Link

Instant Ding Repair Kit

kris — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 21:35:41 +0000

Check out this new instant ding repair kit developed
out of South Africa. It works by filling the ding with a special powder, adding drops of a special liquid, waiting seconds for everything to harden, and then sanding. Sounds pretty cool to me, especially for when you’re traveling.
They claim it’s a more permanent repair than something like Solarez. It’d be great to get some data on the strength of the repair as well as how it affects the overall weight of the board. Still it’s cool to see some innovation in ding repair technology.

The Ocean in a box

kris — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 01:58:10 +0000

Check out this story about a laboratory model of the ocean that fits in a box. It’s pretty cool.

I’m gonna work on getting one to put on my desk, so when work’s bringing me down I can just put my head in it.

Link