Abstract
Experimental evidence indicates that the boundary layers above and below wind waves have a common structure, which is similar to that of the turbulent boundary layer over a rough solid wall. Overall constraints for the coupling of the two-sided air and water turbulent boundary layers, combined with the 3/2-power law of wind waves, require that all the characteristic velocities related to the air-water boundary processes are proportional to one another. A physical interpretation of this state of the local equilibrium is presented with a concept of the “breaking adjustment of wind waves”. The above proportionality of the characteristic velocities provides a physical basis for the observed friction-velocity scaling of the ocean mixed layer.
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© 1988 Kluwer Academic Publishers
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Toba, Y., Kawamura, H., Yoshikawa, I. (1988). Wind Waves as a Coupling Process between Air and Water Turbulent Boundary Layers. In: Kerman, B.R. (eds) Sea Surface Sound. NATO ASI Series, vol 238. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-3017-9_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-3017-9_4
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-010-7856-6
Online ISBN: 978-94-009-3017-9
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