The whitecap coverage model from breaking dissipation parametrizations of wind waves

[1] An analytical model for whitecap coverage has been established from wave breaking dissipation models by improving the model of Kraan et al. [1996]. The similarity of three wave breaking parametrizations has been discussed and applied to develop the analytical model. The proposed model predicts an inversely quadratic dependence of whitecap coverage on wave age, after invoking the 3/2 power law. The undetermined parameter in the model is fixed with the latest published data sets. The proposed model is more consistent with the four data sets used than the other two analytical models presented more recently, which would underestimate significantly the four data sets overall. The substantiation of the field observations to inversely quadratic dependence on wave age means that the choice for the dependence of the damping rate on wave steepness by Komen et al. [1984] in quasilinear dissipation model has some support from observations of the whitecap coverage. The limitation of the single parameter description to whitecap coverage and the controversy on the nature of the dependence of wave breaking properties on wind wave status due to the single-parameter description are discussed. It is pointed out that the multiple-parameter scheme is expected to give rise to a consistent interpretation to the variability of whitecap coverage.

[1]  E. Monahan.  Occurrence and Evolution of Acoustically Relevant Sub-Surface Bubble Plumes and their Associated, Remotely Monitorable, Surface Whitecaps , 1993 .

[2]  Dongliang Zhao,et al.  Dependence of Whitecap Coverage on Wind and Wind-Wave Properties , 2001 .

[3]  P. Hwang.  Temporal and spatial variation of the drag coefficient of a developing sea under steady wind‐forcing , 2005 .

[4]  R. M. Kennedy,et al.  On the Formation of Whitecaps by a Threshold Mechanism. Part I:. Basic Formalism , 1983 .

[5]  Alexander V. Babanin,et al.  Breaking Probability for Dominant Waves on the Sea Surface , 2000 .

[6]  O. Phillips.  Spectral and statistical properties of the equilibrium range in wind-generated gravity waves , 1985, Journal of Fluid Mechanics.

[7]  Duncan B. Ross,et al.  Observations of oceanic whitecaps and their relation to remote measurements of surface wind Speed , 1974 .

[8]  Y. Toba,et al.  Field data support of three-seconds power law andgu*σ−4-spectral form for growing wind waves , 1977 .

[9]  M. Donelan,et al.  On the Dependence of Sea Surface Roughness on Wave Development , 1993 .

[10]  Yoshiaki Toba,et al.  A Parameter Describing Overall Conditions of Wave Breaking, Whitecapping, Sea-Spray Production and Wind Stress , 1986 .

[11]  Robert M. Kennedy.  Sea surface dipole sound source dependence on wave‐breaking variables , 1992 .

[12]  D. Blanchard,et al.  The electrification of the atmosphere by particles from bubbles in the sea , 1963 .

[13]  D. Xu,et al.  Probability of wave breaking and whitecap coverage in a fetch-limited sea , 2000 .

[14]  R. M. Kennedy,et al.  On the Formation of Whitecaps by a Threshold Mechanism. Part III: Field Experiment and Comparison with Theory , 1983 .

[15]  W. K. Melville,et al.  The Role of Surface-Wave Breaking in Air-Sea Interaction , 1996 .

[16]  M. Donelan,et al.  Dynamics and Modelling of Ocean Waves , 1994 .

[17]  Klaus Hasselmann,et al.  On the spectral dissipation of ocean waves due to white capping , 1974 .

[18]  Jin Wu.  Oceanic Whitecaps and Sea State , 1979 .

[19]  W. Plant.  A relationship between wind stress and wave slope , 1982 .

[20]  Li Ding,et al.  Observations of Breaking Surface Wave Statistics , 1994 .

[21]  Jeffrey L. Hanson,et al.  Wind Sea Growth and Dissipation in the Open Ocean , 1999 .

[22]  V. Cardone,et al.  SPECIFICATION OF THE WIND DISTRIBUTION IN THE MARINE BOUNDARY LAYER FOR WAVE FORECASTING , 1969 .

[23]  S. Larsen,et al.  On the Dependence of Sea Surface Roughness on Wind Waves , 1998 .

[24]  W. Kendall Melville,et al.  Correlations between Ambient Noise and the Ocean Surface Wave Field , 1995 .

[25]  Roman E. Glazman,et al.  Statistical characterization of sea surface geometry for a wave slope field discontinuous in the mean square , 1986 .

[26]  Y. Toba,et al.  The steepness and shape of wind waves , 1991 .

[27]  Yoshiaki Toba,et al.  Local balance in the air-sea boundary processes , 1972 .

[28]  Jin Wu.  Wind‐stress coefficients over sea surface from breeze to hurricane , 1982 .

[29]  W. Oost,et al.  Wave Energy Dissipation by Whitecaps , 1996 .

[30]  W. Melville,et al.  Momentum flux in breaking waves , 1985, Nature.

[31]  Norden E. Huang,et al.  Statistical Characteristics of Breaking Waves , 1986 .

[32]  T. Barnett,et al.  Measurements of wind-wave growth and swell decay during the Joint North Sea Wave Project (JONSWAP) , 1973 .

[33]  N. Ebuchi,et al.  Statistical study on the local equilibrium between wind and wind waves by using data from ocean data buoy stations , 1992 .

[34]  H. Gordon.  Atmospheric correction of ocean color imagery in the Earth Observing System era , 1997 .

[35]  K. Hasselmann,et al.  On the Existence of a Fully Developed Wind-Sea Spectrum , 1984 .

[36]  Malgorzata Stramska,et al.  Observations of oceanic whitecaps in the north polar waters of the Atlantic , 2003 .

[37]  Edward C. Monahan,et al.  Optimal Power-Law Description of Oceanic Whitecap Coverage Dependence on Wind Speed , 1980 .

[38]  Jin Wu.  Variations of whitecap coverage with wind stress and water temperature , 1988 .

[39]  Changlong Guan,et al.  On the Linear Parameterization of Drag Coefficient over Sea Surface , 2004 .

[40]  M. A. Srokosz,et al.  On the Probability of Wave Breaking in Deep Water , 1986 .

[41]  P. Forget,et al.  Analysis of the Variations of the Whitecap Fraction as Measured in a Coastal Zone , 2004 .