Very weird gel - I cannot explain these results (Oct/13/2010 )

No, the gels don't float. I've been using these gel rigs for 10 years (plus agarose doesn't float in buffer). As I said I took the gel out of the rig and there was nothing abnormal at that point. The circle is probably an air bubble under the gel while photographing. The only odd thing is that the TBE was probably too concentrated. The smear itself is probably due to deteriorating primers. I think I'll need an electrical engineer to explain the wave. In the meantime, I'm saving the picture!

The only times I've ever seen something remotely similar to that it was due to the "band" being on the surface of the gel (usually because the well was over filled) or under the gel (because the well was pierced with the pipette tip when loading).