{"id":748,"date":"2026-04-24T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/?p=748"},"modified":"2026-04-21T15:10:36","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T14:10:36","slug":"satellites-detect-colossal-waves-towering-115-feet-high-in-the-heart-of-the-pacific","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/satellites-detect-colossal-waves-towering-115-feet-high-in-the-heart-of-the-pacific\/","title":{"rendered":"Satellites Detect Colossal Waves Towering 115 Feet High in the Heart of the Pacific"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the vast Pacific<\/strong>, satellites are now tracking swell<\/strong> systems with unprecedented clarity. Their instruments detect waves rising to nearly 35 meters<\/strong>, mapping energy that travels across entire basins<\/strong>. What once seemed chaotic at sea is being quantified<\/strong>, revealing patterns that matter for ships, coasts, and global safety<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Satellites turn the open ocean into a laboratory<\/h2>\n

The SWOT mission, a joint NASA<\/strong>\u2013CNES<\/strong> effort, measures sea\u2011surface height with astonishing precision<\/strong>. Its radar interferometer resolves long waves whose crests sit hundreds of meters<\/strong> apart, even far from their stormy birthplaces<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

By stitching wide\u2011swath passes over days, SWOT reconstructs swell<\/strong> fields that span thousands of kilometers<\/strong>. The result is a moving atlas of energy<\/strong>, crest length, and direction<\/strong>, where the ocean\u2019s slow\u2011rolling giants become fully visible<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

A remote storm that shook two oceans<\/h2>\n

In late 2024<\/strong>, a powerful system known as Eddie<\/strong> raked the North Pacific. Average significant wave height exceeded roughly 19 meters<\/strong>, with select walls of water pushing toward 35 meters<\/strong> in extreme bursts<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

These long\u2011period waves did not simply crash<\/strong> and vanish; they propagated<\/strong>. They marched nearly 24,000 kilometers<\/strong>, threaded the Drake<\/strong> Passage, and spilled their power into the tropical Atlantic<\/strong> weeks after the winds had faded<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

On Hawaiian and Californian shores, that distant energy<\/strong> enabled legendary big\u2011wave contests<\/strong>. Yet beyond spectacle, the episode exposed how off\u2011shore storms can telegraph risk<\/strong> across basins, long after barometers stop falling<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

What the new measurements really show<\/h2>\n

Satellite data from December 2024<\/strong> captured rare, very long\u2011period swell<\/strong>, with intervals up to about 30 seconds<\/strong> between crests. Such waves carry momentum differently than shorter, wind\u2011sea chop<\/strong>, shaping how they break and runup<\/strong> on coasts.<\/p>\n

Crucially, the analysis indicates that earlier empirical formulas<\/strong> overestimated the energy of the longest waves<\/strong> by as much as a factor of twenty<\/strong>. Instead, energy clusters in a handful of dominant crests<\/strong>, like a fighter saving force for a few decisive blows<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Published in September 2025<\/strong> in PNAS, work led by Fabrice Ardhuin<\/strong> and colleagues updated the spectral picture<\/strong> of extremes. Their framework accounts for nonlinear interactions between long swell<\/strong> and short waves, a coupling once treated as negligible<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

As one researcher put it, \u201cSatellites finally let us see how the ocean organizes<\/strong> its power, concentrating it in fewer, more consequential<\/strong> waves.\u201d That insight reshapes how engineers and forecasters<\/strong> think about far\u2011field hazards<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Key takeaways emerge from the combined observations:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Long\u2011period swell can travel inter\u2011ocean distances<\/strong> with limited energy loss<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
  • A small set of dominant crests can deliver disproportionate impacts<\/strong> at landfall.<\/li>\n
  • Traditional models may misallocate energy<\/strong>, skewing risk maps<\/strong> and design margins.<\/li>\n
  • Nonlinear wave\u2011wave coupling matters for extreme events<\/strong>, not just calm\u2011sea theories<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
  • Spaceborne data now validate and tune next\u2011generation forecasts<\/strong>, reducing nasty surprises<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Designing for tomorrow\u2019s high\u2011energy coast<\/h2>\n

    For ports and coastal towns<\/strong>, the distinction between short, steep storm seas<\/strong> and smooth, long\u2011period swell is not academic. Long waves drive deeper setups<\/strong>, overtop defenses, and infiltrate harbors with resonant surges<\/strong> that stress moorings and quay\u2011wall joints<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    Engineers can now test designs against truly observed<\/strong> extremes, not only model stand\u2011ins<\/strong>. That means refining crest elevations<\/strong>, parapet geometries, and overtopping criteria<\/strong>, and revisiting assumptions for offshore platforms<\/strong> and subsea cables<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    Climate change adds complexity without easy answers<\/strong>. Global warming may alter storm tracks<\/strong>, intensities, and fetch patterns<\/strong>, shifting where and when long swell<\/strong> is born. Yet local bathymetry still governs<\/strong> how that energy focuses on particular shores<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    The prudent path blends satellite records<\/strong>, improved spectral physics<\/strong>, and high\u2011resolution coastal models<\/strong>. Communities can translate far\u2011off wind into near\u2011shore risk<\/strong>, producing warnings that are earlier, clearer, and more actionable<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    Eddie\u2019s waves were not a one\u2011off curiosity<\/strong>, but a preview of a better\u2011measured ocean<\/strong>. With SWOT and companion satellites<\/strong>, science is turning the sea\u2019s largest motions into practical knowledge<\/strong>. When the next deep\u2011ocean storm uncoils its long swell<\/strong>, we will see it sooner, model it better, and prepare with greater confidence<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":749,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1007,1006,166,1011,1010,413,1005,1009,1008],"class_list":["post-748","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-colossal","tag-detect","tag-feet","tag-heart","tag-high","tag-pacific","tag-satellites","tag-towering","tag-waves","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-50"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/748","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=748"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/748\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":760,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/748\/revisions\/760"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/749"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=748"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=748"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=748"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}