Experimental Studies of Surface Wave Breaking and Air Entrainment

Su, Ming‐Yang; Green, Albert W.; Bergin, Mark

doi:10.1007/978-94-017-1660-4_19

Cited by 5 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 12 publications

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“…There are few reported measurements of the extent of breaking along the crest line of a surface wave. The extent may depend on the angular width of the wave spectrum and on factors relating to the stability of wave trains (see, for example, Su et al 1984). The extent of the breaking along the crest appears, however, to be on average less than the distance over which the wave advances whilst continuing to break (Thorpe & Hall 1983).…”

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confidence: 99%

A note on breaking waves

1988

Proc. R. Soc. Lond. A

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Some simple general properties of wave breaking are deduced from the known behaviour of surface gravity waves in deep water, on the assumption that breaking occurs in association with wave groups. In particular we derive equations for the time interval, ז, between the onset of breaking of successive waves: ז ═ T / |1 – ( c ⋅ c g )/ c 2 |, and for the propagation vector c b (referred to as the ‘wave-breaking vector’) of the position at which breaking, once initiated, will proceed: c b ═ c (1 – c ⋅ c g / c 2 )+ c g . Here c is the phase velocity, and c g the group velocity, of waves of period T . Interfacial waves, internal gravity waves, inertial waves and planetary waves are considered as particular examples. The results apply not only to wave breaking, but to the movement of any property (e. g. fluid acceleration, gradient Richardson number) that is carried through a medium in association with waves. One application is to describe the distribution, in space and time, of regions of turbulent mixing, or transitional phenomena, in the oceans or atmosphere.

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confidence: 99%

A note on breaking waves

1988

Proc. R. Soc. Lond. A

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Bubble clouds and the dynamics of the upper ocean

Thorpe¹

1992

Quart J Royal Meteoro Soc

115

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Prcwlcntial addrc\\ dclivcrcd I Y Junc 19Y1) SIIMMAKYThis is a review of turbulence in the upper ocean close to the sea surface, particularly of the information that has been obtained from sonar observations of bubble clouds produced by breaking wind waves. These clouds provide tracers of the turbulent motions and are important, especially at high wind speeds, in the process of air-sea gas transfer. The observations of bubble clouds are here related to other measurements of turbulence, particularly to direct measurements of currents and temperatures in lakes or at sea, and to laboratory studies. Some novel observations of bubble clouds and breaking waves, their frequency and relation to Langmuir circulation, are presented.There is now emerging a pattern of clues that point to the dominance of breaking surface gravity waves as a source of turbulence to a depth below the surface of 0.04 to 0.2 times the wavelength of the dominant breaking waves, although the effect of swell has yet to be clarified. The relative depth appears to increase with increasing values of W,,,/c, where W,,, is the wind speed and c the phase speed of the dominant waves. Below this region the generation of turbulence may be dominated by shear-stresc or convection. Here. turbulence is generally similar to that in the atmospheric boundary layer. There are, however, coherent motions on the scale of the mixing layer that persist for periods of a few minutes to an hour or so, to which the transport of a large part of the momentum and heat fluxes can be attributed. and which strongly affect the dispersion of buoyant particles or bubbles. These motions deserve special study to establish their contribution to heat and momentum transport, and hence to determine if, or when, they should be specifically represented in models of the upper ocean devised, for example, to describe the dispersion of passive and non-passive tracers or the air-sea transfer of gases.

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The Air–Sea Boundary Interaction Zone

Carey

Evans²

2010

Ocean Ambient Noise

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Experimental Studies of Surface Wave Breaking and Air Entrainment

Cited by 5 publications

References 12 publications

A note on breaking waves

A note on breaking waves

Bubble clouds and the dynamics of the upper ocean

The Air–Sea Boundary Interaction Zone

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