Making waves: Oceanographer braves danger to unlock secrets of the sea

The powerful swells can break a container ship in half. Lisa Beal had heard mariners talk about the force of such waves, but she never really believed them, dismissing their accounts as tall sea tales. Then, one day during a research expedition to the Indian Ocean, she experienced what makes rogue waves so dangerous. "I can only describe it as being on a roller coaster. One minute, you're seeing nothing but the ocean; the next, only the sky,” the University of Miami physical oceanographer recalled of her encounter with the unusually steep swells, which can overwhelm and damage even the largest of ships. Seasoned skippers steer their vessels away from such violent waves and into calmer waters. But on the day Beal experienced them, the sea was unforgiving.