» Science & Technology

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

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?

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

Space Coast Reef: an artificial reef for Florida

kris — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 18:35:05 +0000

Ironically, in the surfing world Florida is known more for producing great surfers, but not great waves. The folks in Coco Beach, FL (home of Kelly Slater) are looking to make some nice waves by installing an artificial reef. They’re working with the same company, ASR Ltd, that designed the Mount Reef in New Zealand.

http://spacecoastreef.com has some interesting info & links on their site. Here are some of their preliminary reef specs:

Surfable Days: 300 per year (assuming at least 2 ft swell for those days)

Surfing Ride Length: 400 ft (avg)

Surfing Ride Duration: 40 seconds (avg)

Breaking Intensity: High – tub rides during favorable swell & tidal conditions

Construction Cost: $3 Million (USD)

Great to see the people of FL taking matters into their own hands.

Thanks, 70percent.

Nice waves breaking on a man-made reef in NZ

kris — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 16:10:05 +0000

Apparently there weren’t enough waves at the Bay of Plenty, so they had to make more. The Kiwi’s Mount Reef project seems to be a success in terms of the quality of waves that it’s creating. "The artificial reef is designed to have a primary purpose of creating high quality surfing waves. A database showing the shape of world-class surfing breaks has been utilised to design the reef with sophisticated computer models…" Better still, ASR Ltd claims that "national and international studies show that multi-purpose reefs bring 20-70 times their full construction cost back to the community through visitor spending." I think the Mount Reef project ran about 1,350,000 NZD, but don’t quote me on that – check out what happens when you click their link to where the money has gone.

Time will tell how well the Mount Reef holds up. If it proves to be sturdy, then I’d imagine we’ll see more reefs like them being installed at some of the world’s more crowded beaches.

Lots of great pictures and videos that document the entire project from start to finish on the Mount Reef website.

Book explores the healing powers of surfing

kris — Thu, 05 Oct 2006 17:46:36 +0000

"After spending two years in bed with Lyme disease, Steven Kotler had lost everything: his health, his job, his girl, and, he was beginning to suspect, his mind. Kotler, not a religious man, suddenly found himself drawn to the sport of surfing as if it were the cornerstone of a new faith." Read entire review

I haven’t read this book (just the review), but it sounds really interesting. The fact that the author looked to the waves and found a cure for his physical and mental illness is impressive. His exploration of the science behind it all makes it that much more compelling to me.

Ship Tracker & VOS Program

kris — Tue, 03 Oct 2006 18:06:41 +0000

Here’s a cool site that tracks ocean-going vessels. Take a look at the map and see just how many ships are out there at once. And it doesn’t even track all vessels, rather just the ones that are part of the World Meteorological Organization’s Voluntary Observing Ship program as well as yachts that report their daily progress to YOTREPS.

VOS actually provides us with a lot of important information on ocean weather conditions that we use to track storms and swells, which is nice.

Link

Earthquakes are actually pretty common, but not in FL

kris — Fri, 15 Sep 2006 18:10:53 +0000

It kinda surprised me when I read about the recent earthquake that occurred just off of Florida’s Gulf Coast because the area isn’t very well known to be all that active, speaking strictly tectonically of course. Luckily, it wasn’t the type of earthquake that can cause a tsunami.

A friend showed me this cool site where you can track all earthquakes that occur worldwide over various stretches of time. Red circles are quakes that happened today. Orange = yesterday. Yellow = last 2 weeks. The size of the circle is proportional to the size of the quake.

Very cool. Thanks, Shane!