Abstract

Owing to the interplay between the forward Stokes drift and the backward wave-induced Eulerian return flow, Lagrangian particles underneath surface gravity wave groups can follow different trajectories depending on their initial depth below the surface. The motion of particles near the free surface is dominated by the waves and their Stokes drift, whereas particles at large depths follow horseshoe-shaped trajectories dominated by the Eulerian return flow. For unidirectional wave groups, a small net displacement in the direction of travel of the group results near the surface, and is accompanied by a net particle displacement in the opposite direction at depth. For deep-water waves, we study these trajectories experimentally by means of particle tracking velocimetry in a two-dimensional flume. In doing so, we provide visual illustration of Lagrangian trajectories under groups, including the contributions of both the Stokes drift and the Eulerian return flow to both the horizontal and the vertical Lagrangian displacements. We compare our experimental results to leading-order solutions of the irrotational water wave equations, finding good agreement.

The net movement of Lagrangian particles under water waves comprises a Stokes drift in the direction of wave propagation and an Eulerian return flow in the opposing direction. Accurate prediction of the Eulerian return flow in the ocean is of importance in modelling the transport of plastic pollution, oil, wreckage, and sediment. Herein, we derive a multiple-scales solution for the Eulerian mean flow under wavepackets that is valid for all water depths, both relative to the length of the wave and the length of the wavepacket. To validate this solution, we carry out Particle Tracking Velocimetry experiments in a long flume to extract the mean motion from Lagrangian seeding particles under wavepackets, finding good agreement. The extraction technique is able to deal with small background motion and sub-harmonic error waves associated with wave generation by the paddle, the latter being relatively large in finite-depth flume experiments. In finite depth, the return flow is forced by both the divergence of the Stokes transport on the wavepacket scale and the formation of a non-negligible mean set-down underneath the packet, which acts like a bounding streamtube in the form of a convergent-divergent duct. The magnitude of the horizontal return flow is thus enhanced, with particular relevance to transport in the finite-depth coastal environment.