'Earth wobble,' and other theories about mysterious Maine waves
By Megan Woolhouse, Globe Staff
The massive and mysterious waves that struck the coast of Maine last week, ripping apart docks and snapping pilings in Boothbay Harbor, baffled scientists who said they had no name for the phenomenon.
Some readers, however, had their own theories about the waves (see graphic). And they wrote in from across the country to share them.
Harvey of Acton suggested that the wave was caused by "an Earth wobble'' -- which he described only as "a foundational phenomena that occurs."
John B. of Brookline wrote to say that he felt an earthquake at 2:31 p.m. on Oct. 28, the day of the wave. And he forwarded as proof an e-mail he sent to a friend noting that his "computer monitor was noticeably vibrating."
Like many readers, David A. Brooks, a professor of oceanography at Texas A&M University, suggested that the mysterious waves were something called "seiches" or more casually, "harbor sloshes." He said the phenomena is something akin to how water behaves in a bathtub.
"Around mid-afternoon, evidently the wind abruptly reversed to south (directly inward in BBH) and the speeds increased to over 20 knots offshore," he wrote. "The sudden removal of the offshore drag on the falling tide and replacement with a strong onshore push probably caused the rapid return of the water and subsequent harbor oscillations with periods of about 5-10 minutes or so.
"While this may be an unusual event because of its intensity, harbor oscillations of smaller amplitude commonly happen when wind speeds or directions change rapidly, especially in confined harbors like BBH,'' Brooks wrote. "I'm told that the tide gauge at the Maine Department of Marine Resources in BBH was not operating last week, so unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a source of direct measurement of sea level oscillations in the harbor."
Ruth, a social worker in Newton had a theory of her own: "It's Election Day and something momentous in our history is happening, namely this election."
She wrote that American Indians, Shakespeare, and other cultures have often seen "signs." Comets, for example, have always seemed to portend dramatic events.
Dick in Sherborn shared these thoughts. The rogue wave? "It's called: The Democrats," he wrote.
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"She wrote that American Indians, Shakespeare and other cultures have often seen "signs." Comets, for example, have always seemed to portend dramatic events.
Dick in Sherborn shared these thoughts. The rogue wave? "It's called: The Democrats," he wrote. "
If you believe in Obama spew, I guess you will believe in just about anything!
"She wrote that American Indians, Shakespeare and other cultures have often seen "signs." Comets, for example, have always seemed to portend dramatic events.
Dick in Sherborn shared these thoughts. The rogue wave? "It's called: The Democrats," he wrote. "
If you believe in Obama spew, I guess you will believe in just about anything!
Wow, you found Joe the Waver. All articles should include the mindless speculations and evidence-less anecdotes of armchair morons. Then the Globe could just cease printing and morph completely into a blog with minimal overhead and maximal revenue. But wait, who's this David the Oceanographer! What a long-winded bore! He doesn't drop enough g's to be credible. It's good his opinion is buried deep down in the piece.
Stuff it chump. Your side lost.
Get used to meritocracy. the kleptocracy of the past 12 years is over.
Oh GD. Sooo clever! Oh, my sides!
Have a wonderful four years, you clown.....
Rogue Wave is a great band.
Has anyone checked with NORAD to see if anything fell out of the sky?? Given that only a small section (10-20 miles?) of the coast was affected, I'm surprised the scientific community hasn't already found the point of origin. They have geo-maps showing the contour of the ocean floor out there. Combined with (functional) tidal gauges, you should be able to pinpoint the source of the event, which would have been fairly close to the Maine coast. Try walking over to a body of water (pond) and drop a rock in close to shore. Notice the impact on the shore in front of you. Look a few feet to your right/left and notice the diminished impact there. I think a space rock is a stretch though, compared to the underwater landslide theory (like the 2005 tsunami).
Hey GD. Why do people like you find it so necessary to write negative bs about people's opinions just because they're not your own. Are you so unhappy in your life that you just can't help yourself? I don't get it
Wow GD, did you turn off your humor detector whilst voting for McCain?
People are bound to wonder whether Globe reporters may be Internet challenged or perhaps a bit lazy. Fifteen years ago, one might have found rogue waves known to some sailors, meteorologists, oceanographers or physicists but probably not to many more. Now it's simple to turn to Ask, Wikipedia or other on-line summaries to get an introduction and then go to detailed sources.
Why would a Globe writer want to display little knowledge when knowledge is often easy to find? With a few minutes of keyboard research, this particular phenomenon comes across as rare but no longer particularly "mysterious."
As similar wave in the region of Florida years back. Similar event in Great Lakes area in the past. Has anyone any info if this happened Outside North America ever.
I don't think its something dropping from the Sky. The media wouldve been over that story. Could be related to weather, underwater activity or a sea creature... residing in NA ......... or McCain letting one rip.
DID THE MOON WOBBLE, AWAY?
These waves did more or less coincide with the meteor showers
we recently had, so that may be a possibility. It may also have been a
result of all of the founding fathers turning over in their graves as a
result of the recent election and the state of our nation after being taken
over by marxists.
This blogger might want to review your comment before posting it.
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