Square Wave Phenomenon Is Incredibly Dangerous

[maximus otter]

If you ever noticed that the ocean looks like it's full of 'square waves' - it's best to get out of the water immediately.

The phenomenon is known as cross seas and it's something that is considered extremely dangerous.

This is because the quadrilateral-shaped pattern is created when two separate weather systems collide that are moving in different directions.

As a result, this makes them very similar to rip tides which are a struggle to get yourself out of. If you find yourself attempting to swim in cross seas, you would be fighting two different waves simultaneously.

[A poster on Reddit] explained: "These are long-period swells caused by weather systems actually far apart from each other. The swells generated by those systems were at this angle to each other. They then travel sometimes long distances and can eventually collide like this."

https://www.ladbible.com/community/...e-phenomenon-is-incredibly-dangerous-20210219

Also:

Nature has so many surprises to offer and most of the time, they are a sight to behold. Just like in the Isle of Rhe in France, nature works wonders to bring a fascinating pattern to the surface of the sea — the crisscrossing waves.

The strange phenomenon is one of the coolest things you’ll ever see. Tourists even flock Isle of Rhe for that reason.

https://www.elitereaders.com/rare-dangerous-square-shaped-waves/

maximus otter

 

[Nosmo King]

If you ever noticed that the ocean looks like it's full of 'square waves' - it's best to get out of the water immediately.

The phenomenon is known as cross seas and it's something that is considered extremely dangerous.

This is because the quadrilateral-shaped pattern is created when two separate weather systems collide that are moving in different directions.

As a result, this makes them very similar to rip tides which are a struggle to get yourself out of. If you find yourself attempting to swim in cross seas, you would be fighting two different waves simultaneously.

[A poster on Reddit] explained: "These are long-period swells caused by weather systems actually far apart from each other. The swells generated by those systems were at this angle to each other. They then travel sometimes long distances and can eventually collide like this."

https://www.ladbible.com/community/...e-phenomenon-is-incredibly-dangerous-20210219

Also:

Nature has so many surprises to offer and most of the time, they are a sight to behold. Just like in the Isle of Rhe in France, nature works wonders to bring a fascinating pattern to the surface of the sea — the crisscrossing waves.

The strange phenomenon is one of the coolest things you’ll ever see. Tourists even flock Isle of Rhe for that reason.

https://www.elitereaders.com/rare-dangerous-square-shaped-waves/

maximus otter

Just found a couple of videos

 

[Mikefule]

"Square waves" are two sets of waves crossing each other at roughly 90 degrees.

One common cause is when the waves hit a harbour wall at about 45 degrees and reflect back at "the other" 45 degrees. I have seen this on a small scale many times, and once on a large scale when I was in a small boat.

When two waves cross, the peaks and troughs are (more or less) added together, so that means that if you get caught in a small boat at the point where they cross it can be alarming or even dangerous. In rough conditions, it can look a bit like a small water spout or "explosion".

The point where they cross is moving, of course, because both waves are moving. What is less obvious is that the intersection is moving faster than either of the two waves.

A "rip tide" (or, rip current) is something different. It is when a wave goes up the beach and then is funnelled back to the sea by a gully or low point in the beach. All this means is that the water is flowing back out to sea faster and stronger than it came in, because it is focussed in one area.

Seen from above, a rip current typically shows a "mushroom" shape. Most rip currents will only carry you for a short distance. If you let the current carry you away from the beach, you will eventually reach the point where the water slows down and "billows out" into the head of the mushroom.

If you are ever unlucky enough to be caught in a rip current, do not try to swim against it. Swimming directly towards the beach is the worst thing you can do because you will tire yourself out and frighten yourself. It is the natural thing to want to get ashore quickly, but it is usually this urge that is more dangerous than the current itself.

Instead, either swim parallel the beach until you are out of the rip current, or let it carry you out until it slows down, then swim parallel to the beach and come back in somewhere else. One of the attached photos shows how the natural circulation of water can help you back to safety if you work with it rather than fighting against it.

 

[Aurora Newman]

If you have surf training you learn how to spot rip tides. (Some aren't as obvious to spot). But you'd have to get a surfer or a life guard to show you on a beach what to look for as its very hard to explain and show in pictures and video footage. You have to be there. Once you get the eye for it, you can then show others.