"Offshore wind turbines are vulnerable to sudden and catastrophic destruction in moderately stormy seas, according to new research."

"LONDON -- Wind turbines are at constant but unpredictable risk of being snapped in pieces like matchsticks by medium-sized waves, a researcher has found.

'The problem is, we still do not know exactly when the turbines may break', says Professor John Grue from the Department of Mathematics at the University of Oslo, Norway.

In 1989 Grue, a leading wave researcher, discovered a phenomenon called ringing, which is a type of vibration that occurs when choppy waves strike marine installations.

So far scientists have studied ringing only in small and large waves, but it now appears to be more common in medium-sized waves."

Alex Kirby reports for Climate News Network March 2, 2013. [2]