Abstract
Variations are found in the shape and the steepness of wind-generated surface gravity waves between very young waves, such as seen in a laboratory tank, and larger waves of various wave ages encountered at sea as the result of wind stress over larger fetches. These differences in the characteristic shape of wind waves are presented as a function of the wave age. The wave steepness is also expressed as a function of wave age, the measurement of which is consistent with the 3/2-power law connecting wave height and characteristic period, normalized by the air friction velocity.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Cooley, J.W. and J.W. Tukey (1965): An algorithm for the machine calculation of complex Fourier Series, Math. Comp.,19, 297–301.
Cox, C. and W. Munk (1954): Statistics of the sea surface derived from sun glitter. J. Mar. Res.,13, 198–227.
Csanady, G.T. (1985): Air-sea momentum transfer by means of short-crestd wavelets. J. Phys. Oceanogr.,15, 1486–1501.
Huang, N.E. and S.R. Long (1980): An experimental study of the surface elevation probability distribution and statistics of wind-generated waves. J.Fluid Mech.,101, 179–200.
Huang N.E., S.R. Long, C. Tung, Y. Yuen and L.F. Bliven (1981): A unified two-parameter wave spectral model for a general sea state. J.Fluid Mech.,112, 203–224.
Hsu, C., H. Wu, E. Hsu and R.L. Street (1982): Momentum and energy transfer in wind generation of waves. J. Phys. Oceanogr.,12, 929–951.
Kawai, S., K. Okada and Y. Toba (1977): Field data support of three-seconds power law and gu* σ −4-spectral form for growing wind waves. J. Oceanogr. Soc. Japan,33, 137–150.
Koga, M. (1981): Direct production of droplets from breaking wind-waves: its observation by a multi-colored overlapping exposure photographing technique. Tellus,33, 552–563.
Koga, M. (1984): Characteristics of a breaking wind-wave field in the light of the individual wind-wave concept. J. Oceanogr. Soc. Japan,40, 105–114.
Pierson, W.J., G. Neumann and R.W. James (1955): Practical methods for observing and forecasting ocean waves by means of wave spectra and statistics. U.S. Dept. of the Navy Hydrog. Offc. Publ. No. 603, 284 pp.
Plate, E.J. (1978): Wind-generated water surface waves: The laboratory evidence. In “Turbulent Fluxes through the sea surface, Wave Dynamics, and Prediction”, Edited by A. Favre and K. Hasselmann, Plenum Press, New York, 385–401.
Stokes, G.G. (1847): On the theory of oscillatory waves. Trans. Camb. Phil. Soc.,8, 441–455.
Toba, Y. (1972): Local balance in the air-sea boundary processes, I. On the growth process of wind waves. J. Oceanogr. Soc. Japan,28, 109–120.
Toba, Y. (1978): Stochatic form of the growth of wind waves in a single-parameter representation with physical implications. J. Phys. Oceanogr.,8, 494–507.
Toba, Y. (1988): Similarity laws of the wind wave and the coupling process of the air and water turbulent boundary layers. Fluid Dyn. Res.,2, 263–279.
Toba, Y., N. Iida, H. Kawamura, N. Ebuchi and I.S.F. Jones (1990): Wave dependence on sea-surface wind stress. J. Phys. Oceanogr.,20, 705–721.
Tokuda, M. and Y. Toba (1981): Statistical characteristics of individual waves in laboratory wind waves. I. Individual wave spectra and similarity structure. J. Oceanogr. Soc. Japan,37, 243–258.
Tokuda, M. and Y. Toba (1982): Statistical characteristics of individual waves in laboratory wind waves. II. Self-consistent similarity regime. J. Oceanogr. Soc. Japan,38, 8–14.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bailey, R.J., Jones, I.S.F. & Toba, Y. The steepness and shape of wind waves. Journal of the Oceanographical Society of Japan 47, 249–264 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02310094
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02310094