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VERSION:2.0
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
PRODID:iCalendar-Ruby
BEGIN:VEVENT
LAST-MODIFIED:20080430T130806
SEQUENCE:0
CONTACT:enquiries@gresham.ac.uk
ORGANIZER:Gresham College
DTEND:20080513T190000
UID:2008-05-17T04:40:48-0400_663657114@socialweb1
DESCRIPTION:Cinemagoers will be familiar with the thrill of giant waves. Bu
 t what most people don't know is that the film The Poseidon Adventure is ba
 sed on an incident involving the Queen Mary in WWII. The famous liner was h
 it by a giant 'wall of water' while she was carrying 15\,000 American troop
 s to Britain in 1942. The ship listed to an astonishing 52 degrees and almo
 s capsized. More recently\, The Perfect Storm will be familiar to most\, pr
 oviding an account of the sinking of the Andrea Gail south of Newfoundland 
 in 1991.
\n
\nSuch giant waves are rare\, and seldom recorded by reliable o
 ceanograophic instruments. However\, on 1 January 1995 a sensor on a platfo
 rm in the central North Sea recorded a giant 60ft high wave crest\, so 'fre
 ak' waves are not just tall tails. Giant waves can have disastrious consequ
 ences even for the largest ships and offshore structures.
\n
\nSuch waves a
 re thought to be very rare but just how rare? What physics drives such wave
 s? Is a 'wall of water' plausible? How should engineers design structures t
 o survive rare but potentially catastrophic events?
\n
SUMMARY:Giant Waves on the Open Sea: Mariners' tall tales or alarming fact?
DTSTART:20080513T180000
CREATED:20070730T150917
DTSTAMP:20080517T044048
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