For years, scientists struggled to explain the mysterious disappearances of ships and low-flying aircraft.Many speculated that bad weather or machine malfunction were responsible. But satellites have recentlyidentified enormous waves in the oceans and the data proves that they are more common than once thought.Scientists now suspect that the disappearances may have been caused by these “rogue waves.”

        So, how do rogue waves form? Oceanographers once thought that rogues were the result of many smaller waves joining together to form a giant wave. But in analyzing the recent satellite images, scientists have noted that rogues appear to form most often in places where waves of different strengths come together from different directions. At the southernmost tip of Africa, for example, where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet, it is quite common for waves to crash into each other. This theory may explain the occurrence of rogue waves in similar locations around the globe (such as at the tip of South America). However, it does not explain why the waves form in places where there are no fast-moving ocean currents—such as in the North Sea. Though scientists are beginning to understand more about rogue waves, there is still a lot to learn.