NASA has just released an image taken by the Landsat 8 satellite on October 29, 2020, showing a dense band of white foam left by large waves as they hit Praia do Norte beach in Nazaré (Portugal). Portugal).
The images also show violent bulges that have ripped through the surrounding seafloor sediment to form a giant water cloud that extends about 10 kilometers from the coast.
Image taken from a NASA satellite.
The waves at Nazaré regularly reach heights of more than 50 feet (15m) during the winter months. However, the waves on October 29 were further enhanced by high winds, the remnants of a storm.
Monster waves at Nazaré
According to the Portuguese Hydrographic Institute, part of the reason for such large waves in Nazaré stems from a canyon that is submerged under the water.
When waves pass through this area, the base of the waves inside the canyon will remain at the same speed as they were offshore, while the top of the waves will be slowed down. This causes the wave to change direction or bend to the southwest.
However, other waves that did not pass through the canyon still hit the shore in a northwesterly direction. When the Southwest and Northwest waves combine at the same time, they form super large waves.
Super big waves at Nazaré.
These super waves usually only form in the winter months, so during the summer months the changing ocean currents mean that the waves won’t travel through the canyon in this way.
A chance to make a record
Praia do Norte beach in Nazaré has long been known as one of the best surf spots in the world.
For surfers, their two desired goals are to possess excellent technique and conquer challenging giant waves. It was on October 29, 2020, that an 18-year-old surfer named António Laureano made a splash when surfing on a wave up to 30.9m high.
Laureano excitedly admitted he was lucky to be able to confront and conquer this giant wave. Laureano added that the wave he crossed was possibly the largest of the giant waves that appeared that day.
After returning home, Laureano sent his video to researchers at the University of Lisbon in Portugal. Using software that references the surfer’s height to determine the wave level, the researchers concluded that the wave was as high as 30.9m.
However, Laureano’s number one record still has to be verified by the world surfing association.
Before that, the biggest wave ever surfed was the 24.4m high wave, also in Nazaré, conquered by Brazilian surfer Rodrigo Koxa in 2017. That time, Koza’s record was officially broken. recognition from the association. It is a bit of a pity for Laureano that no association official was present in Nazaré on October 29, 2020 to directly confirm.
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