Abstract
Understanding the physical mechanisms behind the generation of ocean waves by wind has been a longstanding challenge1,2. Previous studies3,4,5,6 have assumed that ocean waves induce fluctuations in velocity and pressure of the overlying air that are synchronized with the waves, and numerical models have supported this assumption7. In a complex feedback, these fluctuations provide the energy for wave generation. The spatial and temporal structure of the wave-induced airflow therefore holds the key to the physics of wind–wave coupling, but detailed observations have proved difficult. Here we present an analysis of wind velocities and ocean surface elevations observed over the open ocean. We use a linear filter8 to identify the wave-induced air flow from the measurements and find that its structure is in agreement with ‘critical-layer’ theory3. Considering that the wave-induced momentum flux is then controlled by the wave spectrum and that it varies considerably in vertical direction, a simple parameterization of the total air–sea momentum flux is unlikely to exist.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Thomson, W. (Lord Kelvin) Hydrokinetic solutions and observations. Phil. Mag. 42(4), 362–377 (1871); Math Phys. Pap. 4, 80
Jeffreys, H. On formation of waves by wind. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. A 107, 189–206 (1924)
Miles, J. W. On the generation of surface waves by shear flows. J. Fluid Mech. 3, 185–204 (1957)
Belcher, S. & Hunt, J. C. R. Turbulent shear flow over slowly moving waves. J. Fluid Mech. 251, 109–148 (1993)
Meirink, J. F. & Makin, V. Modelling low-Reynolds-number effects in the turbulent air flow over water waves. J. Fluid Mech. 415, 155–174 (2000)
Li, P. Y., Xu, D. & Taylor, P. A. Second order turbulence closure modeling for air flow over water waves. Boundary-Layer Meteorol. 95, 397–425 (2000)
Sullivan, P., McWilliams, J. & Moeng, C.-H. Simulation of turbulent flow over idealized water waves. J. Fluid Mech. 404, 47–85 (2000)
Hristov, T., Friehe, C. & Miller, S. Wave-coherent fields in air flow over ocean waves: Identification of cooperative behavior buried in turbulence. Phys. Rev. Lett. 81, 5245–5248 (1998)
Phillips, O. M. On the generation of waves by turbulent wind. J. Fluid Mech. 2, 417–445 (1957)
Donelan, M. Air–Sea Interaction Vol. 9 (eds LeMehaute, B. & Hanes, D. M.) 239–292 (John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1990)
Komen, G., Cavaleri, L., Donelan, M., Hasselmann, K., Hasselmann, S. & Janssen, P. Dynamics and Modelling of Ocean Waves (Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, 1994)
Csanady, G. T. Air–Sea Interaction: Laws and Mechanisms (Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, 2001)
Longuet-Higgins, M. S. Action of variable stress at the surface of water waves. Phys. Fluids 12, 737–740 (1969)
Davis, R. E. On the turbulent flow over a wavy boundary. J. Fluid Mech. 42, 721–731 (1970)
Landau, L. D. & Lifshitz, E. M. Fluid Mechanics 172–176 (Pergamon, Oxford, 1986)
Lin, C. The Theory of Hydrodynamic Stability (Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, 1955)
Phillips, O. M. The Dynamics of the Upper Ocean 108 (Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, 1977)
Hasse, L. & Dobson, F. Introductory Physics of the Atmosphere and Ocean 101 (D. Reidel, Boston, 1986)
Janssen, P. et al. Impact and Feedback of Ocean Waves on the Atmosphere Vol. 1 of Advances in Fluid Mechanics Ch. 5 155–198 (WIT, Ashurst, 2002)
Acknowledgements
J. Edson's help and the expert assistance of FLIP's captain Tom Golfinos and crew made it possible to carry out the experiment. In discussions, comments or criticisms came from O. Phillips, M. Donelan, J. McWilliams, P. Sullivan, J.C.R. Hunt, P. Taylor, M. McIntyre, S. Belcher, V. Makin and V. Kudryavtsev. ONR (Marine Meteorology) has provided the funding for this work.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare that they have no competing financial interests.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hristov, T., Miller, S. & Friehe, C. Dynamical coupling of wind and ocean waves through wave-induced air flow. Nature 422, 55–58 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature01382
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature01382
This article is cited by
-
A Parameterization Scheme for Wind Wave Modules that Includes the Sea Ice Thickness in the Marginal Ice Zone
Advances in Atmospheric Sciences (2023)
-
The Dynamical Coupling of Wind-Waves and Atmospheric Turbulence: A Review of Theoretical and Phenomenological Models
Boundary-Layer Meteorology (2022)
-
Stabilization of liquid instabilities with ionized gas jets
Nature (2021)
-
Effect of Water Vorticity on Wind-Generated Gravity Waves in Finite Depth
Water Waves (2021)
-
Study on the behavior of weakly nonlinear water waves in the presence of random wind forcing
Nonlinear Dynamics (2020)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.