Brian K. Haus

On the existence of water turbulence induced by nonbreaking surface waves

Abstract This paper is dedicated to wave-induced turbulence unrelated to wave breaking. The existence of such turbulence has been foreshadowed in a number of experimental, theoretical, and numerical studies. The current study presents direct measurements of this turbulence. The laboratory experiment was conducted by means of particle image velocimetry, which allowed estimates of wavenumber velocity spectra beneath monochromatic nonbreaking unforced waves. Observed spectra intermittently exhibited the Kolmogorov interval associated with the presence of isotropic turbulence. The magnitudes of the energy dissipation rates due to this turbulence in the particular case of 1.5-Hz deep-water waves were quantified as a function of the surface wave amplitude. The presence of such turbulence, previously not accounted for, can affect the physics of the wave energy dissipation, the subsurface boundary layer, and the ocean mixing in a significant way.

Influence of Wind Forcing on Modulation and Breaking of One-Dimensional Deep-Water Wave Groups

AbstractEvolution of nonlinear wave groups to breaking under wind forcing was studied by means of a fully nonlinear numerical model and in a laboratory experiment. Dependence of distance to breaking and modulation depth (height ratio of the highest and the lowest waves in a group) on wind forcing was described. It was shown that in the presence of a certain wind forcing both distance to breaking and modulation depth decrease; the latter signifies slowing down of the instability growth. It was also shown that wind forcing significantly reduces the energy loss in a single breaking event.

Experimental Study on Wind-Wave Momentum Flux in Strongly Forced Conditions

AbstractA quantitative description of wind-wave momentum transfer in high wind conditions is necessary for accurate wave models, storm and hurricane forecasting, and models that require atmosphere–ocean coupling such as circulation and mixed layer models. In this work, a static pressure probe mounted on a vertical wave follower to investigate relatively strong winds (U10 up to 26.9 m s−1 and U10/Cp up to 16.6) above waves in laboratory conditions. The main goal of the paper is to quantify the effect of wave shape and airflow sheltering on the momentum transfer and wave growth. Primary results are formulated in terms of wind forcing and wave steepness ak, where a is wave amplitude and k is wave number. It is suggested that, within the studied range (ak up to 0.19), the airflow is best described by the nonseparated sheltering theory. Notably, a small amount of spray and breaking waves was present at the highest wind speeds; however, their effect on the momentum flux was not found to be significant within st...