Totally off the wall question but dive related.

[DeputyDan]

At lunch today the movie Deep Impact was discussed.

In the movie - a comet strikes the Atlantic which creates a 3,000' plus tidal wave.

Question brought up was.

If this were to happen and you knew that you could not get inland to avoid the wave - what would happen if you took a boat out and dove to 100 feet and let the wave pass over head?

Would the surge suck you up into the wave?
Would the backwash suck you up into the wave?
Would you be safe and happy (I think not?)

Does anyone know how the wave action would work and if you could still survive?

 

[Quarrior]

I'm not expert, but the word, SPLAT, comes to mind. That 3000' of water has to come from someplace.

 

[bcsean]

that wave would suck up everything. 100' down would be absolutely nothing compared to a 3000' wave.

 

[Hank49]

At lunch today the movie Deep Impact was discussed.

In the movie - a comet strikes the Atlantic which creates a 3,000' plus tidal wave.

Question brought up was.

If this were to happen and you knew that you could not get inland to avoid the wave - what would happen if you took a boat out and dove to 100 feet and let the wave pass over head?

Would the surge suck you up into the wave?
Would the backwash suck you up into the wave?
Would you be safe and happy (I think not?)

Does anyone know how the wave action would work and if you could still survive?

A three foot swell stands up and breaks in roughly three to four feet of water. Look at a wave as sort of a half pipe. The other half is under the surface. It also depends on how steep the sea floor slope is. The more gentle the slope, the more the wave tends to roll off the top, or a "mushburger". When the water is deep and comes up a wall very steep, you get almond shaped, totally gnarly barrels...like Pipeline, on the north shore of Oahu. So, yes if you were in only one hundred feet of water you would be in deep s##t. Either the gnarliest barrel ever, if it hit on say, Belize's barrier reef, or you would be buried in 200 stories of rolling white water.

 

[matt_unique]

At lunch today the movie Deep Impact was discussed.

In the movie - a comet strikes the Atlantic which creates a 3,000' plus tidal wave.

Question brought up was.

If this were to happen and you knew that you could not get inland to avoid the wave - what would happen if you took a boat out and dove to 100 feet and let the wave pass over head?

Would the surge suck you up into the wave?
Would the backwash suck you up into the wave?
Would you be safe and happy (I think not?)

Does anyone know how the wave action would work and if you could still survive?

Same thing that happens when you drop a huge rock into a puddle - empties half the water onto the land and causes a massive shock through the remaining. Sitting on the bottom of the ocean at the Marianas Trench maybe...

 

[Bubble Blower 479]

The depth of the wave motion is deeper that the wave on the surface. If you wanted to get below the wave you would have to dive well below 3000 feet. Even if you could dive that deep you would have to be out in the deep ocean and not along the coast.

 

[Boogie711]

Yeah yeah yeah - but what kind of awesome drift dive would that be?!?!?

 

[miketsp]

There are instances of damaged alveoli with divers passing close under 2.5m waves - lets say a 30% pressure surge.
Now even if you stayed put - say holding on to the bottom - I'll leave you to think about the pressure surge you're going to feel as the wave passes overhead.
Just keep saying "aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh".
Keep those airways open.

 

[teknitroxdiver]

I wouldn't advise it. You would be left completely in the dry after the wave passed over, due to the fact that, yes, the 3000 feet of water does have to come from somewhere. I would advise hopping in a plane and going for a nice flight.

 

[baltimoron]

hmm.... wouldn't you embolize in the surge?