How Do Some Waves Get SO Big?

Get 10% off all orders with code MINUTEEARTH now through May 31. After that, code is valid on 6" and 8.5" only. Shop now on bit.ly/MinuteEarthGlobes.
All over the world, giant wave breaks appear because of underwater geology that supercharges their wave energy.
LEARN MORE
**************
To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords:
Amplitude - The distance between the crest and trough of a wave.
Bathymetry - The measurement of depth of water in oceans, seas, or lakes.
Nazaré Canyon - An undersea canyon just off the coast of Nazaré, Portugal, in the eastern North Atlantic Ocean. It is the largest submarine canyon in Europe, reaching depths of about 5,000 meters (16,000 ft) deep and a length of about 230 kilometers (140 mi).
Plunging Breaker - Occurs when there are rapid depth changes. The crest of the wave becomes very steep, and the rear of the wave violently plunges over the front.
Reef Break - A location where waves break over a reef, often amplifying them.
Spilling Breaker - Occurs when the seafloor slopes gradually. As the wave becomes unstable, energy is dissipated by water spilling over the crest of the wave.
Swell - a slow, regular movement of the sea in rolling waves that do not break.
Wave period - The time between waves.
SUPPORT MINUTEEARTH
**************************
If you like what we do, you can help us!:
- Become our patron: / minuteearth
- Share this video with your friends and family
- Leave us a comment (we read them!)
CREDITS
*********
Cameron Duke | Script Writer
Kate Yoshida | Narrator
David Goldenberg | Director
Sarah Berman | Illustration, Video Editing, and Animation
Nathaniel Schroeder | Music
MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC
neptunestudios.info
OUR STAFF
************
Sarah Berman • Arcadi Garcia Rius
David Goldenberg • Julián Gustavo Gómez
Melissa Hayes • Alex Reich • Henry Reich
Peter Reich • Ever Salazar • Kate Yoshida
OUR LINKS
************
KZbin | / minuteearth
TikTok | / minuteearth
Twitter | / minuteearth
Instagram | / minute_earth
Facebook | / minuteearth
Website | minuteearth.com
Apple Podcasts| podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...
REFERENCES
**************
Babanin, A. V., Rogers, W. E., de Camargo, R., Doble, M., Durrant, T., Filchuk, K., Ewans, K., Hemer, M., Janssen, T., Kelly-Gerreyn, B., Machutchon, K., McComb, P., Qiao, F., Schulz, E., Skvortsov, A., Thomson, J., Vichi, M., Violante-Carvalho, N., Wang, D., & Waseda, T. (2019). Waves and Swells in High Wind and Extreme Fetches, Measurements in the Southern Ocean. Frontiers in Marine Science, 6. Retrieved from: doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2019.00361
Editor At Surfertoday.com. (2013, November 5). The canyon that makes waves. Surfertoday; SurferToday.com | The Ultimate Surfing News Website. Retrieved from: www.surfertoday.com/surfing/t...
Griffiths, L. S., & Porter, R. (2012). Focusing of surface waves by variable bathymetry. Applied Ocean Research, 34, 150-163. Retrieved from: doi.org/10.1016/j.apor.2011.0...
Inman, D. (2021). Living with Coastal Change - Coastal Basics - Wave Refraction Model - Jaws, Hawaii. Ucsd.edu. Retrieved from: coastalchange.ucsd.edu/st3_bas...
Keating, S. (2020, January 6). The story of a wave: from wind-blown ripples to breaking on the beach. The Conversation. Retrieved from: theconversation.com/the-story...
Pedro Proença Cunha, & Margarida, M. (2015, February). The Nazaré coast, the submarine canyon and the giant waves - a synthesis. ResearchGate; Universidade de Coimbra. Retrieved from: www.researchgate.net/publicat...
Pinet, P. R. (2009). Invitation to oceanography (5th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.
The generation and propagation of ocean waves and swell. I. Wave periods and velocities | Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series A, Mathematical and Physical Sciences. (2017). Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series A, Mathematical and Physical Sciences. Retrieved from: royalsocietypublishing.org/do...
Warner, S. (2020). What makes the world’s biggest surfable waves? The Conversation. Retrieved from: theconversation.com/what-make...
Warner, S. (2021). Department of Environmental Studies, Brandeis University. Personal Communication. Homepage: www.brandeis.edu/facultyguide...

[@MinuteEarth]

Thanks for your giant waves of support for MinuteEarth! Want to become our Patreon or member on KZbin? Just visit www.patreon.com/MinuteEarth or click "JOIN". Thanks!

[@johnsteinat5213]

You guys are awesome. Answering questions I didn't even know I had. I don't know how you come up with these topics, but I'm glad you do

[@Algeriawindows69]

E

[@Algeriawindows69]

@@johnsteinat5213 13 hours ago wat

[@speedyflixofficial]

ᴵ'ᵐ ˢᵘᵇᵇᶦⁿᵍ ᵗᵒ ᵉᵛᵉʳʸᵒⁿᵉ ʷʰᵒ ˢᵘᵇˢᶜʳᶦᵇᵉˢ ᵗᵒ ᵐʸ ᶜʰᵃⁿⁿᵉˡ ᵃⁿᵈ ˡᶦᵏᵉˢ ᵗʰᶦˢ ᶜᵒᵐᵐᵉⁿᵗ . . .

[@MindSweptAway]

Ok

[@ChiolasPT]

I'm portuguese and this is the first time in 30 years I've seen Nazaré's Cannon clearly explained

[@paulovictortimoteo7535]

sou do Brasil também achei a explicação mt boa mesmo n falando inglês

[@mazedude5911]

Wow 🤩

[@ManuelRego]

PORTUGAL CARALHO!

[@Samantha_yyz]

This is my favorite breech in Portugal. Been there so many times even though it's a bit of a drive from my family in Batalha.

[@syn_tsumi9599]

Devolve nosso ouro

[@somewinner8229]

The face reveal has shattered my assumption that this entire channel was run by stick figures

[@mazedude5911]

Yea I’m sad 😢

[@capivara6094]

it's not the first that they she showed her face

[@Octoschizare]

Some of them have been in the videos as themselves a few times already. Kate, Emily, Henry, and probably a few more I'm forgetting right now.

[@pvic6959]

nah im pretty sure it is still run by stick figurers but they hired that person at the end to do that part of the video

[@MikeArthas]

Shattered

[@NetAndyCz]

Surprisingly, some waves become really huge even at open sea.

[@robotuprising1711]

Yeah, i assumed the topic would have discussed rogue waves at first. But it was really cool to learn about the underwater canyon in Portugal!

[@Ibrahim-vx5kq]

Because there's nothing to stop them

[@garydagg9112]

I was a little disappointed it never explained rogue waves

[@ancientswordrage]

Yeah I thought that would be this video's topic as well...

[@marcopohl4875]

imagine one of those hitting Nazaré

[@MacheB]

My thought when seeing the video’s title: -“The dangers of giant waves.” The feeling when watching the video: -“Cowabunga!”

[@GeeTransit]

surfer: waving to me :) me on the tenth floor: *confused screaming*

[@Dont-jy5ox]

This comment deserves more

[@AverytheCubanAmerican]

Ocean Man determines the size of his waves But when he’s angry, he’ll form a tsunami

[@itismethatguy]

My man Avery havent seen your comments in months what happened?

[@spikypichu]

if this gets a lot of likes i wont be surprised

[@kennarajora6532]

@@spikypichu both of our comments probably will too. I've seen a lot of replies get 100's of likes whereas normally they'd get 10 or something.

[@MikSrf723]

Ummm. I think you mean Aquaman.

[@Bigfoot_With_Internet_Access]

This is why we bigfoots just stay in the woods and avoid the ocean, those waves can get pretty big

[@brain2728]

Seeing you after almost a year.

[@jongyon7192p]

ok scp-1000

[@James-ip5gz]

Best youtube name ever haha

[@WoWhistorian]

Is that why you run every time I wave at you? They're not the same kind of wave!

[@CallMeMimi27]

what

[@MrMe-xv6qr]

Watson sleeping at the end just makes it so much more wholesome

[@Payhellbay]

Kinda disappointed it's not a hyena though

[@biginfluencer5252]

Usually I just watch these because it’s fun but this time I actually feel like I’ve learned something :)

[@Hauketal]

Great info about coastal waves. But hugely unknown until recently, there are also monster waves in the open ocean. Up to 30m were measured from oil platforms. They are created by overlaying smaller waves with different speeds.

[@mrslinkydragon9910]

I see you watched facts in motions video on rouge waves too

[@onalennasehume4586]

I love Minute Earth. Complex topics explained so eloquently

[@benmathews2762]

This is the kind of info I'll never have a need to use but will love to share one day 😂

[@gildedbear5355]

THANK YOU for giving a little bit of info on how Mova globes work! So cool!

[@Psychol-Snooper]

I've seen video of unspeakable Portuguese waves for years, and just last night was wondering why they exist. Synchronicity!

[@Leep458]

Another great video, thank you for everything you guys do!

[@josephelmes2165]

I'm a PhD researcher in the UK looking at simple mathematical models on internal-tide generation along canyons. Lovely video! :)

[@micaelgarcia1576]

Huh, this is very interesting and something I always wondered; Thanks!

[@imded442]

they showed their faces many times before

[@darrenmarney8577]

Thank you for the isolation of principles 😃 As a Surfer who enjoys all the aspects in regards to scientific studies 👌 This information provides a great visualisation of wave energy conversion 😃

[@SuperKEpro]

Best sponsor ever! Love the product so much!

[@FNHot]

I havent seen a video that cool or learned that much in a long time, good work!!

[@ImranZakhaev9]

I designed a rubble mound breakwater for our engineering capstone project, and its so cool to actually understand this completely! Hydraulic engineering is awesome!

[@MikSrf723]

I wish we could drop those things off the shore and create good surfing spots.

[@RobotShield]

Who’s going to tell them you don’t surf on top of the wave while it’s breaking?

[@auhsojacosta1672]

Well. Hundreds of people die everyday for a reason

[@equesdeventusoccasus]

Excellent video, next please explain "rogue waves" which form out at sea rather than on coastlines.

[@miguelmolano6611]

Kate! I also have a MOVA Globe. They are the best and super cool if you are into the geeky science behind it.

[@ya64]

Was expecting Nazaré being mentioned and was not disappointed!

[@evilsharkey8954]

The biggest normal waves you’ll ever see. There are occasionally much bigger ones, but they’re tsunamis, not normal waves, and when they’re that big, they’re often the last thing one ever sees.

[@MrPhungCS104]

I usually don't care about sponsor and just skip that segment but that Mova globe is actually so interesting, I will have to find some way to have it shipped to my country though. Also, great video as always.

[@greensteve9307]

Hope you have a spare $500 + shipping!

[@islandbeaches395]

I was in the obx this weekend and waves was knocking me down.I was trying to figure out how waves was formed.

[@GauravVohra]

More big wave pictures please!

[@Jeabea08]

i love this you guys make the best videos

[@IgnatRemizov]

That looks like a fun place to surf!

[@avalanche5790]

I have recently found out that a very large wave in Alaska reached a staggering height of 1720 FEET!!! THATS 524 METERS TALL!!! Imagine a 108 floor tall building hurling at you at blistering speeds. I shiver at the thought(not just because its in Alaska).

[@DeRien8]

A bunch of places along the California coast get similar canyon-fed waves, but thankfully the Monterey Canyon still has a river flowing into it instead of a shelf. Otherwise those would be terrifying.

[@lonelyPorterCH]

pretty interesting, I didn't know that :D

[@rmdodsonbills]

I have a MOVA globe and I'm quite excited about it. Rather than it being a geographic globe, though, it's a Termesphere, spherical art by South Dakota artist Dick Termes. Really cool!

[@whazzup_teacup]

Good thing largest road I've experienced is 3 lanes per direction. I don't want to imagine more.

[@princetandukar9290]

*Tech tonic plate: farts *humans: SCREAM!

[@veganchaatparty]

Super Super Super super awesome videos!!!

[@obstinatejack]

oh wow, that was so awesome to know

[@FoxDren]

was expecting this to be a video on 'rogue waves'

[@yoxes7560]

look at the surfer hes having a blast

[@sergiull95]

Portugal.... CARALHO ESSA ONDA É GIGANTE!

[@ultrasay7123]

A maior onda ja surfada🤙

[@jaydenosuntuyi7886]

The pun at the end is perfect

[@DanteYewToob]

I bet we’ll see human engineered geoforming of “wave ramps” in tourist and high traffic surf areas some day... Imagine constructing a simple concrete barrier, or more likely an artificial reef that grows into a mathematically perfect wave generator for more efficient waves to surf! I could see us doing the opposite to by altering the sea bed to reduce waves in places where erosion is a big issue. Pretty cool!

[@lucabeard532]

I bought one of those mova globes. Gotta say, no regrets!

[@Dragrath1]

There is another way to get monster waves without much in the way of topography namely constructive wave interference powering enormous waves plus probabilistic monster waves can happen too

[@marvalice3455]

N9w do one on rogue waves!

[@notesmaker204]

The dog's back!!

[@F10n0]

these globes are pretty awesome, i guess i cant REALLY have a to scale replica of Jupiter without really breaking the bank... and possibly the floor

[@greensteve9307]

Depends on what scale your want! xD

[@gavinanderson4199]

whoah really thought that was Cameron Diaz for about 4 seconds

[@somerandomcommenter7228]

2:40 wait so its a real time shrinked version of the globe? does that mean if you place a clock over it that has a big hole does that mean its a working clock for every place?

[@_Adnan________________________]

Very wavy video

[@b0nkerzz]

I like how the arrow in the thumbnail points to the three in the time

[@EpoxyCircus]

Good Tube

[@Seadalgo]

I miss seeing the west shore waves of Oahu

[@fuedaseoyt]

What about rogue waves?

[@Mor4n4]

Wow, those waves were massive. Wouldn't during a Storm it would prove disastrous? They are already pretty huge and after a storm or a underwater earthquake I believe it can do some big damage.

[@hannespost8591]

And why do waves exist at the beginning/ where does the 1500m wave energy come from?

[@Eric14492]

mostly the wind

[@hannespost8591]

@@Eric14492 But how 1500m deep?

[@Eric14492]

@@hannespost8591 A little bit at a time. The oceans are huge, and as long as the wind stays from generally the same direction, the waves get bigger and bigger. Strong steady wind over 1000's of miles and will accumulate a *lot* of energy.

[@MinuteEarth]

Great question! Waves originate far out at sea, where energy from wind gets transferred to the ocean. Water molecules begin pushing and pulling on each other, making them move in ferris wheel-like motions as the wave passes through them. The resulting ripples get larger and more regular as they travel outward - although only in the the very largest waves does energy reach quite that low.

[@hannespost8591]

@@MinuteEarth Thank you guys

[@mirhasanoddname]

Kate but why are Teahupoo waves so thick? I though it was because of the reef but apparently the Nazare ones also go through a similar thing?

[@HadleyCanine]

Hm. Isn't this the same effect that explains why the spouts we put on our cups so we can pour out of them are triangular shaped?

[@zachklieman2141]

Sooo excited to see Monterey Bay at 1:15 ! Northern Californiaaaa. Side note: the placement of the canyon and land around it look just like Monterey Bay to me, and I assume the visual after this is if Nazaré canyon, but my apologies if I got my wires crossed

[@zachklieman2141]

Like with canyon landfall near Moss Landing

[@EpicWolverine]

Those globes are dope but *holy crap* that's expensive.

[@nishantsingh4830]

Where does the energy cones from? I mean where is the origin for such a big amount of energy.

[@1.4142]

Imagine during storms

[@sarajamal799]

2:30 wow

[@ultraapple3997]

More!

[@ultraapple3997]

I am early

[@DeclanMBrennan]

You didn't explain why the wave doesn't get at least partially reflected back out to sea by a near vertical cliff but maybe that's a Minute Physics question.

[@HansMaximum]

Ok, so who is going to link surfing videos at the Nazare's Canyon?

[@IcantThinkOf_A_Name]

Thank you for explaining how tsunamis are only big near the shore!

[@demolisherman1763]

Wait aren’t rouge waves taller?

[@Eric14492]

no, not 10 stories. The "largest recorded rogue wave was 84 feet high"

[@demolisherman1763]

@@Eric14492 I mean that’s the largest recorded one but scientists have done simulations that suggest they can get even bigger

[@Eric14492]

@@demolisherman1763 I'm sure that they have gotten bigger. We only observe a tiny fraction of rouge waves. But I also think that we haven't seen the largest waves of other types. They didn't mention tsunamis, the biggest tsunami was recorded at 100 ft. high, and "it snapped trees 1,700 feet upslope."

[@MikSrf723]

In your animations you have the surfer on top of the wave. In real life surfers ride on the Face, or front of the wall of water. If we rode on top,,, we would be thrown over the lip snd SLAMMED down in front with the whole wave on top of us... (we call it "going over the falls")! That's why you see the actual 🏄‍♂️surfer in the photograph riding on the face of the wave at the end... like sliding down a giant moving mountain of water. 😊🤙

[@audetnicolas]

What does it mean when you say that the energy is contained under the wave? Under what form is that energy (kinetic? pressure?...) How is it related to the wave above it? Why doesn't it just get dispersed when it hits the bottom? What you are presenting is probably right but I find that the explanation is a bit "vague" (bilingual pun intended...!)

[@loc4725]

Ok, so how do freak/rogue waves form in the open ocean?

[@barryklinger8185]

Nice video, but a couple of misleading things... Why does the wave slow down? Friction could play a role, but in general the more important cause is that when the wave is in shallow enough water, the wave speed is proportional to the square root of the water depth. As depth gets smaller, wave gets slower. That's true even without friction. A more subtle point: why does the wave get taller in shallower water? Its not exactly that the rising sea floor forces the wave height to rise. Its more like the "squeezing energy" description in the video. If the wave is affecting the water all the way to the bottom, then shallower water ==> energy is confined to a shorter space ==> more intense concentration of energy ==> taller bump on the surface. -Barry Klinger, Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Earth Sci Dept, George Mason U.

[@foxbatmc8457]

Good to see you back kate

[@importantname]

Hi Kate

[@chomp7923]

I spent my vacation on a hotel near the beach and the waves in that beach are like 2 times the size of an adult

[@emmochenful]

yay 28 mins after release

[@altair.-.2573]

Eyyyy portugal being represented

[@gadana2329]

What about monster waves? They can get ridiculously tall

[@SupremeLeaderKimJong-un]

what did one ocean say to the other ocean? Nothing, they just WAVED Can you SEA what i did there? I’m SHORE you did. Why are you so SALTY about my puns? Don’t be a BEACH

[@badhrihari1705]

Our leader has great sense of humour!

[@Think_Inc]

Never new rocket man knew to joke.

[@JYT256]

i can't StAND people like you

[@mazedude5911]

Cool 😎

[@avaboaudione]

The dog!

[@AM2A15]

Then what's the difference between those waves and a tsunami?

[@Danikoshii]

Despite living in the Philippines, I'm still impressed by waves that are like- 2 meters tall and actually break a good distance away from the shore So it baffles me that waves over 90 ft(27 meters) exist and _not_ be considered tsunamis at that point

[@rickkwitkoski1976]

tsunamis are specifically formed by earthquakes and other earth movements. Volcanoes, rockfalls... These are wind energy waves maybe with currents helping too.

[@FenrirWolf42]

Tsunamis are completely different from a mechanical standpoint. Instead of forming from wind action against the ocean surface, they're created when the earth itself moves during earthquakes, underwater landslides, etc. And you know how the energy from surface waves described in this video go down to like 1500 meters or so? In a tsunami wave, the energy goes all the way from the ocean floor to its surface. Which means there's a *lot* more energy that gets squeezed onto the shoreline once it arrives, and the result is more like the entire ocean rising up and up and running aground for several miles rather than just forming a big surface wave

[@epauletshark3793]

What about Rogue waves? I believe that they are caused by several smaller waves colliding and combining into one massive one.

[@massimookissed1023]

Nah, you're thinking of rogue waves.

[@epauletshark3793]

@@massimookissed1023 did you read the comment? I said that was about Rouge waves.

[@massimookissed1023]

@@epauletshark3793 , I _did_ read your comment, which is why I wrote my smart-arsed response. Rouge / rogue ;)

[@epauletshark3793]

@@massimookissed1023 Oooh, I totally missed the spelling error. Thanks for pointing that out. Guess I didn't read your comment.

[@massimookissed1023]

@@epauletshark3793 , no worries. Our brains don't usually read every letter, but just check that the right collection of letters are there to make words. I guess the rest is assumed by context. There's a line in Screen Rant's Pitch Meeting for Star Wars Rogue One, about how no-one's ever gonna call it _Rouge_ One. kzbin.info/www/bejne/mJrUXpWml7mdac0

[@joshuaadamstithakayoutubel2490]

POV: You didn't watch the whole ad.

[@HomespunWisdom]

Checked out Movaglobes. Had a good laugh as the price can pay rent for a substantial, luxury space for a year, or buy a used car. 10% off, you say? LOL!

[@user-cd4bx6uq1y]

17h-20h ago, yay

[@bencracknell9533]

Cooooool

[@alwaysdisputin9930]

Generally brilliant explanation but I dunno how 0:18 these yellow V V V V V things are energy. I just found that a bit vague & would've liked to see how the water moves e.g. 'The Formation of Waves Surf by Life Saving Australia says wind blows some water down underneath the surface which causes some other water to move upwards & this causes circles to appear. The circles spin as the wave moves towards the shore. I should draw it....otherwise my explanation is too unclear...oh god it will take ages to draw it

[@cpypcy]

Hi this is Kate from minute eartTHHHH. :D

[@oreskec]

there's some strong current with those puns

[@Pompomatic]

Really cool globes, but way too expensive :/

[@frishal]

interesting

[@speedyflixofficial]

ᴵ'ᵐ ˢᵘᵇᵇᶦⁿᵍ ᵗᵒ ᵉᵛᵉʳʸᵒⁿᵉ ʷʰᵒ ˢᵘᵇˢᶜʳᶦᵇᵉˢ ᵗᵒ ᵐʸ ᶜʰᵃⁿⁿᵉˡ ᵃⁿᵈ ˡᶦᵏᵉˢ ᵗʰᶦˢ ᶜᵒᵐᵐᵉⁿᵗ . . . . ♥

[@maxmann6933]

How about using scientific units instead of imperial units?

[@3possumsinatrenchcoat]

1:34 SCRAT!

[@confusedwhale]

1:05 waves kay-in't

[@Shnarfbird]

Wowee