“In 15 minutes, the water rose 12 feet, then receded. And then it happened again. It occurred three times, she said, each time ripping apart docks and splitting wooden pilings.”
Spooky. The article mentions 3 possible causes:
1. Land movement-A landslide underwater by seismic disturbance or more likely by a land slump. The slump could be caused by strong storm conditions that have stirred the water. Perhaps even a methane decompression (land movement caused by gas) as the article mentions…however no seismic disturbances were measured.
2. Wind movement-During large storms (and ocassionally not) a lot of wind blowing over a lot of water can generate high wave action. The article mentions a squall line surge. A brief explanation from The Deadliest Catch here about wind, current and how land underneath can effect wave action.
Brief you tube video explaining the difference between transverse and longitudinal waves here. It gets more and more abstract.
3. Tides-Due mostly to land form, tidal piles of water fill Maine’s harbors creating extreme difference between high and low tide. This is not so far from the Bay Of Fundy, which has some of the highest tidal action on earth. Stop-motion video of those tides here:
