A FISHING crew was stunned when they found themselves surrounded by a dangerous square wave phenomenon.
Square waves are caused by two wave systems travelling at different speeds and trajectories.
A ship was left stunned after spotting the unusual square waves in Turkey[/caption]
The fishing ship crew were left baffled by the waves[/caption]
The wave systems meet on the surface and resemble a grid or checkerboard.
The strange event was filmed in the Aegean Sea off the coast of Turkey.
A video shows concerned fishermen scanning the sea as waves form a chessboard-like pattern.
Experienced surfers and boaters know to get out of the water when they see the rare wave pattern.
Square waves have reportedly caused many shipwrecks and pose a threat to anyone swimming in the water at the time.
The different swells from opposing directions can make it feel like you are battling against two competing currents.
Swimmers are at risk of being swept away while boaters can experience navigational problems.
Boaters are advised to stay in the shallows if they encounter square waves at sea.
It’s not just Turkey that they have been spotted in.
Square waves have also been found in Isle de Re near La Rochelle, and tourists can safely see them from the lighthouse.
And the square waves – sometimes called cross waves – have been spotted in Lisbon in Portugal as well as Hawaii.
One person on social media commented: “Growing up in Hawaii, we were always taught to keep an eye out for the ‘squares’.
“The grid can pull you back and fourth for hundreds of feet and make it hard to stay calm.”
There is also something called internal waves, which are spotted in places like Gibraltar.
Forming 100m below the water, they caused by a density change in the water, often when two different oceans meet.
Thankfully, due to their depth, they are not dangerous to swimmers or boats.
Something more dangerous are “coastal phenomena” which happen in both Spain and Florida.
Consisting of things like wave surges and cyclones, anyone walking along the coastline is also at risk.
And we’ve rounded up some of the places in the world that have the biggest waves.
The dangerous waves are also spotted in Europe and near Hawaii[/caption]
