Wave in Southern Ocean Measured 64 Feet

A massive wave appeared in the Southern Ocean over the weekend, measuring an impressive 64 feet, or taller than a six-story building.

An automated buoy measured the wave on Saturday, according to the USA Today.

"This is one of the largest waves recorded in the Southern Hemisphere," said oceanographer Tom Durrant. "This is the world's southernmost wave buoy moored in the open ocean, and we are excited to put it to the test in large seas."

This comes just a few months after the buoy was installed. At the time, it was installed to "get valuable observations from this remote part of the ocean," and that's exactly what it accomplished on Saturday, USA Today noted.

The Southern Ocean produces some of the biggest waves, but they have not been studied closely over the years, until now.

"Southern Ocean waves are described by sailors as ‘liquid Himalayas’ and remain largely unstudied, including our ability to forecast them," researcher Sally Garrett of the New Zealand Defense Force said, according to USA Today.

"Accurate measurements of these conditions will help us understand waves and air-sea interactions in these extreme conditions," Durrant said. "This, in turn, will lead to improvements in the models used to simulate the waves, providing better forecasts, both for the Southern Ocean and for the wider region."

Despite this wave's gigantic size, it's not a record-breaker, according to CNN.

The biggest wave to ever be recorded by a buoy was a North Atlantic Ocean wave measuring taller than 82 feet in February of 2013.

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