Rogue waves are freakishly large ridges of water known for rising out of the blue to ambush hapless ships and beachgoers. But a new artificial intelligence model can predict most of these surprising swells up to five minutes in advance, mechanical engineers Thomas Breunung and Balakumar Balachandran, of the University of Maryland in College Park, report July 18 in Scientific Reports.
Cresting more than twice as high as surrounding waves, rogue waves may form where converging swells raise a single, amplified wave or where ocean currents compress swells into powerful billows. Though researchers have noticed that certain patterns may precede these sudden surges, no effective forecasting algorithm had yet been developed (SN: 6/8/15). Such a tool could be lifesaving — from 2011 to 2018, collected eyewitness accounts indicate that rogue waves killed 386 people and sank 24 ships.
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