Abstract
We present the results of laboratory experiments on the stability of a wind-driven water surface to surface waves and Langmuir circulations. The laboratory measurements, which are made possible by a variety of modern quantitative flow visualization techniques, show that this classical wave-generation problem presents a variety of interesting phenomena that occur over comparable space and time scales. Of particular interest is the clear influence of the Langmuir circulations on the structure of the wave field. Following recent work by Melville, Shear & Veron (1998) and Veron & Melville (1999), we show that the waves that are initially generated by the wind are then strongly modulated by the Langmuir circulations that follow. Direct measurements of the modulated wave variables are qualitatively consistent with geometrical optics and wave action conservation, but quantitative comparison is elusive. Within the context of the Craik-Leibovich theory of Langmuir circulations, the scaling is clearly O(1), with the surface currents being comparable to the phase speed of the waves. We discuss the results in the context of the available theoretical models. It is a pleasure to dedicate this paper to Professor Leibovich on the occasion of his 60th birthday.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
W.K. Melville, R. Shear, F. Veron: J. Fluid Mech. 364, 31 (1998)
F. Veron, W.K. Melville: ‘Laboratory studies of the initiation of Langmuir Circulations and Turbulence’. In: Symposium on the Wind-Driven Air-Sea Interface, Sydney, Australia, January, 1999. ed. byM.L. Banner, pp 265–272.
A.D.D. Craik, S. Leibovich: J. Fluid Mech. 73, 401 (1976)
H. HauBecker, R. M. Shear, B. Jähne, W. K. Melville 1995: ‘Horizontal and vertical spatial structures of turbulence beneath short wind waves’. Presented at: XXI General Assembly IAPSO, Honolulu, August 1995.
S. Kawai: J. Fluid Mech. 93, 661 (1979)
A. Faller, E.A. Caponi: J. Geophys. Res. 83, 3617 (1978)
S. Leibovich, S. Paolucci: J. Fluid Mech. 102, 141 (1981)
B. Jahne, K. Riemer: J. Geophys. Res. 95, 11531 (1990)
X. Zhang, C.S. Cox: Exp. in Fluids 17, 225 (1994)
H. Hauβecker, S. Reinelt, B. Jähne: ‘Heat as a proxy tracer for gas exchange measurements in the field: Principles and technical realization’. In: Third International Symposium on Air-Water Gas Transfer, Heidelberg, Germany, July 1995,. ed. by B. Jähne, E. C. Monahan (Aeon, Hanau 1995) pp 405–413
A. V. Fedorov, W. K. Melville: J. Fluid Mech. 354, 1 (1998)
A. V. Fedorov, W. K. Melville, A. Rozenberg: Phys Fluids 10, 1315 (1998)
I. Langmuir: Science 87, 119 (1938)
H.D. Thoreau: Cape Cod (W. W. Norton and Company, 1951 edition, New York, 1857)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2001 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this paper
Cite this paper
Veron, F., Melville, W.K. (2001). Laboratory Measurements of the Generation of Langmuir Circulations and Surface Waves. In: Lumley, J.L. (eds) Fluid Mechanics and the Environment: Dynamical Approaches. Lecture Notes in Physics, vol 566. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-44512-9_21
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-44512-9_21
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-41475-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-44512-8
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive