Abstract
A comprehensive analysis of the wavefield evolution under accelerated wind conditions provides an essential contribution to understanding the wind-wave generation process. A set of experiments was carried out in a large wind-wave facility where it is possible to reproduce high wind speed conditions to study the wind acceleration effect in the wind-wave development. The facility was equipped with high-frequency sampling devices that provide accurate air turbulence and water surface displacement measurements. From this deployment, it was possible to describe the evolution of the wave characteristics under different magnitudes of constant wind acceleration in detail. This study analyzes the wind acceleration effect in the early stages of wind-wave generation and evolution. The increase of spectrum energy saturation level and the downshift of the peak frequency are processes associated with the spectral shape evolution under low acceleration wind conditions. Under high wind acceleration conditions, the spectral shape did not vary with wind speed and fetch. Despite under low acceleration wind conditions, the wavefield is more developed than under high acceleration wind conditions; there was no direct relation between wind acceleration and the wavefield efficiency to grow. Besides, during these early instants, it was observed that a more developed wave field, associated with low acceleration wind conditions, could slow down the increase of drag coefficient with wind speed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Caulliez G, Makin V, Kudryavtsev V (2008) Drag of the water surface at very short fetches: Observations and modeling. J Phys Oceanogr 38(9):2038–2055. https://doi.org/10.1175/2008JPO3893.1, https://journals.ametsoc.org/jpo/article-pdf/38/9/2038/4499645/2008jpo3893_1.pdf
Coantic M, Ramamonjiarisoa A, Mestayer P, Resch F, Favre A (1981) Wind-water tunnel simulation of small-scale ocean-atmosphere interactions. J Geophys Res Oceans 86(C7):6607–6626. https://doi.org/10.1029/JC086iC07p06607
Donelan MA, Haus BK, Reul N, Plant WJ, Stiassnie M, Graber HC, Brown OB, Saltzman ES (2004) On the limiting aerodynamic roughness of the ocean in very strong winds. Geophys Res Lett 31(18):1–5. https://doi.org/10.1029/2004GL019460
Fabrikant A (1976) Quasilinear theory of wind wave generation. Izv Akad Nauk Sssr Fiz Atmosfery I Okeana 12(8):858–862
Holthuijsen LH (2007) Waves in oceanic and coastal waters. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511618536
Janssen PA (1982) Quasilinear approximation for the spectrum of wind-generated water waves. J Fluid Mech 117:493–506
Jeffreys H (1925) On the formation of water waves by wind. Proc R Soc Lond A 107:189–206
Kawai S (1979) Generation of initial wavelets by instability of a coupled shear flow and their evolution to wind waves. J Fluid Mech 93(4):661–703. https://doi.org/10.1017/S002211207900197X
Miles JW (1957) On the generation of surface waves by shear flows. J Fluid Mech 3(02):185–204. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022112057000567
Mitsuyasu H, Rikiishi K (1978) The growth of duration-limited wind waves. J Fluid Mech 85 (04):705–730. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022112078000889
Phillips OM (1957) On the generation of waves by turbulent wind. J Fluid Mech 2:417–445
Phillips OM (1958) The equilibrium range in the spectrum of wind-generated waves. J Fluid Mech 4:426–434
Robles-Diaz L, Ocampo-Torres FJ, Branger H, Garcia-Nava H, Osuna P, Rascle N (2019) On the early stages of wind-wave generation under accelerated wind conditions. Eur J Mech B/Fluids 78:106–114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.euromechflu.2019.06.007, http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0997754618306952
Stull RB (ed) (1988) An introduction to boundary layer meteorology. Springer, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-3027-8
Toba Y (1973) Local balance in the air-sea boundary processes iii. on the spectrum of wind waves. J Oceanographical Soc Jpn 29(2):209–220. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02109506
Toba Y, Ebuchi N (1991) Sea-surface roughness length fluctuating in concert with wind and waves. J Oceanographical Soc Jpn 47:63–79
Toba Y, Okada K, Jones ISF (1988) The response of wind-wave spectra to changing winds. part i: Increasing winds. J Phys Oceanogr 18(9):1231–1240. https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0485(1988)018<1231:TROWWS>2.0.CO;2
Waseda T, Toba Y, Tulin MP (2001) Adjustment of wind waves to sudden changes of wind speed. J Oceanogr 57:519–533
Zavadsky A, Shemer L (2017) Water waves excited by near-impulsive wind forcing. J Fluid Mech 828:459–495. https://doi.org/10.1017/jfm.2017.521
Acknowledgements
This work represents a contribution of RugDiSMar Project (CONACYT 155793), of CONACYT CB-2015-01 255377 Project, and the Gulf of Mexico Research Consortium (CIGoM). Some part of this research work has been carried out within the framework of the Labex MEC. We express our gratitude to L.A. Julieta Castro for her administrative and logistic coordination support. Funding from Excellence Initiative of Aix-Marseille University - A*MIDEX, a French “Investissements d’Avenir” program, and from CONACYT-SENER-Hidrocarburos Project 201441, is greatly acknowledged. LR-D wishes to express her gratitude to CONACYT and the Physical Oceanography Department for the support provided as a Ph.D. scholarship.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Responsible Editor: Nelson Violante-Carvalho
Publisher’s note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
This article is part of the Topical Collection on the International Conference of Marine Science ICMS2018, the 3rd Latin American Symposium on Water Waves (LatWaves 2018), Medellin, Colombia, 19–23 November 2018 and the XVIII National Seminar on Marine Sciences and Technologies (SENALMAR), Barranquilla, Colombia 22–25 October 2019
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Robles-Diaz, L., Ocampo-Torres, F.J., Branger, H. et al. Effect of the wind acceleration magnitude during the first stages of the wind-wave generation process. Ocean Dynamics 71, 981–992 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10236-021-01478-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10236-021-01478-5