Sea-Surface Slope and Equilibrium Wind-Wave Spectra
Author:
- 1 May 1972
- journal article
- conference paper
- Published by AIP Publishing in The Physics of Fluids
- Vol. 15 (5) , 741-747
Abstract
The measured mean-square slope of the sea surface is shown to vary logarithmically with the wind velocity, and the rates of variation change with different boundary-layer regimes of the wind. Based on mean-square slope data, the form of a newly proposed equilibrium wind-wave spectrum for the capillary range is verified, the spectral coefficients for both gravity and capillary ranges are determined, and the cutoff wavenumber for the slope data is shown to be much smaller than the neutrally stable wavenumber obtained from laminar model. Finally, an approximate correlation is presented between the mean-square slope and the roughness height of the sea surface, implying that the growth of small waves is mainly due to the direct action of the wind.Keywords
This publication has 4 references indexed in Scilit:
- Slope and Curvature Distributions of Wind-Disturbed Water SurfaceJournal of the Optical Society of America, 1971
- Wind stress and surface roughness at air-sea interfaceJournal of Geophysical Research, 1969
- On the generation of surface waves by shear flows. Part 4Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 1962
- The equilibrium range in the spectrum of wind-generated wavesJournal of Fluid Mechanics, 1958