Decades ago when I first read of undersea currents I wondered if they had waves. The obvious answer is yes; presumably slow--but how do you see such things?
The waters off Samoa have a narrow channel with a strong current of cold water from Antarctica flowing into warm water, and Matthew Alford's team towed sensors to watch it. Not for the joy of seeing waves--apparently there's been a water mixing problem where the estimated water mixing rates are far higher than anything actually measured in the deep sea.
The group saw waves 800 feet high, and all the turbulent mixing they needed, due to breaking waves if their calculations are correct.
The density differences between cold and warm water are small enough that waves don't break quickly--they say an hour. I love watching and hearing the waves breaking on the beach--a giant squid doing the same deep down would have to be very patient. Maybe life is slower in the abyss.
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