WELLINGTON - Scientists have recorded what is believed to be the largest wave ever in the southern hemisphere, a 23.8 metre (78 foot) monster the height of an eight-floor building. Senior oceanographer Tom Durrant said it wiped out the previous southern-hemisphere record of 22.03 metres recorded in 2012. "To our knowledge it is largest wave ever recorded in the southern hemisphere," he said, adding that the Southern Ocean was an "engine room" for generating swell waves that move across the planet. He said the buoy, installed in March to measure the extreme conditions in the Southern Ocean, also only recorded for a 20-minute burst every three hours to conserve its batteries. The largest wave ever noted was an earthquake-generated tsunami at Alaska's Lituya Bay in 1958 that measured 30.5 metres, according to Smithsonian magazine.

Source: Bangkok Post May 11, 2018 03:33 UTC