Abstract
Measurements of the effects on wind waves by surface active compounds were made at the downwind end of a 7 km fetch in Lake Washington. Slicks produced from a model compound which reduced surface tension by 6–8 mN/m, formed 10 m patches which drifted by the wave sensor in 3–5 minutes. Naturally forming slicks, reducing surface tension by 1 to 2.8 mN/m, were also observed. For wind speeds of 2–3 m/s, waves of intrinsic frequency greater than about 2 Hz were strongly reduced, while at 6 m/s the reduction was weaker but still discernible. Depending on wind speed and slick type the reduction in spectral power density was 20 to 90% for gravity-capillary waves and up to 100% for capillary waves.
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© 1989 Kluwer Academic Publishers
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Katsaros, K.B., Gucinski, H., Ataktürk, S.S., Pincus, R. (1989). Effects of Reduced Surface Tension on Short Waves at Low Wind Speeds in a Fresh Water Lake. In: Komen, G.J., Oost, W.A. (eds) Radar Scattering from Modulated Wind Waves. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-2309-6_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-2309-6_6
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