Draupner wave

Uncommon card · No. 145593

The Draupner wave, also known as the New Year's wave or Draupner freak wave, was a rare rogue wave that was the first to be detected by a measuring instrument. The wave, determined to be 25.6 m (84 ft) in height, was recorded on 1 January 1995 at Unit E of the Draupner platform, a gas pipeline support complex located in the North Sea about 160 km (100 miles) southwest from the southern tip of Norway. The Draupner platform rig, located in the Norwegian North Sea and 160 km (99 mi) offshore from Norway, was built to withstand a calculated 1-in-10,000-years wave with a predicted height of 20 m (64 ft) and was fitted with state-of-the-art sensors, including a laser rangefinder wave recorder on the platform's underside. On 31 December, a low pressure system was located over Sweden, with a north-western motion. This system produced large waves over the North Sea, although none was of significance. Early the next day, a polar low formed over the Norwegian portion of the North Sea, which produced...

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