Join us as we continue our journey of intrigue and discovery with Adrian Shine, a seasoned Loch Ness investigator. Adrian is renowned for his dedication to uncovering the truth, he’ll present a series of four blogs exploring some of the most common cases of mistaken identity in the search for Nessie.
Many things can make monsters on Loch Ness. What they all have in common is that they appear to confirm what we would like or even expect to see there. As we shall see, calm water has been long recognised as the best ‘Nessie weather’ but this does not happen every day. However, you might still see the occasional monster!
On a typical day, the wind blowing along the glen raises waves which reflect the sky, giving the lochs surface a light silvery or grey colour. However, sometimes a wave can appear much darker than the waves surrounding it giving the impression of a solid object. The reason that occasional waves can appear in this way is usually due to their steepness which means that they no longer reflect the light colour of the sky and are seen in great contrast to the surrounding water. This steepness, often associated with wave height, can occur within the general wave ‘packet’ cycle. This is popularly known as the ‘seventh wave’ phenomenon where larger waves arrive at intervals. It can also occur due to ‘interference effects’ between more than one wave train, such as boat wakes or where some shore feature may have altered the direction of some of the waves. In these circumstances, two waves may combine to make a higher than average wave. If such a wave becomes so steep that its top makes an angle of less than 120 degrees it will begin to break, making a line of foam which may attract further attention, and has been described as a ‘break’ in the water.
Another quite different monster is made by ‘catspaws’ which usually occur when the wind is not blowing along the glen but across it. So, the hills shelter the loch to a great extent but because they are high and irregular, they produce flaws and eddies in the wind which strike down on the loch surface, giving the impression of quite solid objects with distinct wakes. Sometimes they just produce little wakes among more normal looking waves. However, there will usually be more than one of them, and that’s the way to tell!
In windy weather we often see long lines of foam. What is happening is that as the surface water is being blown downwind, ‘cells’ of counter rotating water form, which are technically known as Langmuir circulations. As they move downwind, they space themselves out with alternating upwelling and downwelling lines. We do not see the upwelling lines because there isn’t much in the water from below. However, in the downwelling lines, foam and other debris is drawn in and left floating there.
Once the pattern is established, it is unlikely that they would be reported as monsters because there are lots of them regularly spaced across the loch. However, there is one form which hugs the shoreline and portions of this can appear isolated as it develops and might indeed draw in branches and other debris that might look like monsters.
Ninety years of observation, investigation and witness reports have definitely established that ‘Nessie’ is a calm water phenomenon. The watchers of the Loch Ness Investigation Bureau of the 1960s came to recognise ‘Nessie weather’ as the time to spread their cameras out and redouble their concentration. It was also the weather featured in the many reports they collected from visitors and residents. It is , of course, true that more people are likely to be watching the loch in these conditions and that objects on the surface are generally easier to distinguish without the waves, but it is also true that many of the phenomena we shall describe can only be visible on calm water, which was also true of ‘sea serpent’ reports which led to one form of Loch Ness Monster sighting.
There is an interesting effect which may be called a ‘wind slick’. Under usual conditions the surface of the loch appears silvery due to waves or ripples reflecting the sky. As the loch calms, the water ceases to reflect the sky and begins to reflect the dark opposite shore which ‘advances’ further toward the observer as the calming progresses. The wind has ‘flaws’ or irregularities which can leave portions of surface calmer though surrounded by stronger ripples. These appear dark, because they are reflecting the opposite shore. These wind slicks can create remarkably misleading shapes and are easily misinterpreted as ‘shadows’ or underwater objects. There is nothing of course to make a shadow and our shallow observation angle at distance does not allow an underwater view. A reverse condition can occur when the loch water is dark and calm. Here patches of rippled water appear light.
Until our next instalment from Adrian, visit The Loch Ness Centre to journey through 500 million years of legend and discovery. Explore more examples of mistaken identities, famous hoaxes, and the enduring mystery of Loch Ness!
Have you ever spotted something unusual on the loch? We’d love to hear about it! Share your observations with us using this link. Who knows—you might just have the next big discovery!
Images & Video is Copyright of M. Shine
