Observation-consistent input and whitecapping dissipation in a model for wind-generated surface waves: description and simple calculations

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Title: Observation-consistent input and whitecapping dissipation in a model for wind-generated surface waves: description and simple calculations
Author(s): Rogers, W. Erick; Babanin, Alexander V.; Wang, David W.
Abstract: A new wind-input and wind-breaking dissipation for phase-averaged spectral models of wind-generated surface waves is presented. Both are based on recent field observations in Lake George, New South Wales, Australia, at moderate-to-strong wind-wave conditions. The respective parameterizations are built on quantitative measurements and incorporate new observed physical features, which until very recently were missing in source terms employed in operational models. Two novel features of the wind-input source function are those that account for the effects of full airflow separation (and therefore relative reduction of the input at strong wind forcing) and for nonlinear behavior of this term. The breaking term also incorporates two new features evident from observational studies; the dissipation consists of two parts-a strictly local dissipation term and a cumulative term-and there is a threshold for wave breaking, below which no breaking occurs. Four variants of the dissipation term are selected for evaluation, with minimal calibration to each. These four models are evaluated using simple calculations herein. Results are generally favorable. Evaluation for more complex situations will be addressed in a forthcoming paper.
Publication type: Journal article
Research centre: Swinburne University of Technology. Faculty of Engineering and Industrial Sciences
Source: Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology, Vol. 29, no. 9 (Sep 2012), pp. 1329-1346
Publication year: 2012
FOR Code(s): 0401 Atmospheric Sciences; 0405 Oceanography
Keyword(s): Observation-consistent; Surface waves; Wave breaking; Whitecapping dissipation; Wind-breaking; Wind input
Publisher: American Meteorological Society
ISSN: 0739-0572
Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jtech-d-11-00092.1
Additional information: The authors acknowledge support from the Office of Naval Research via the NRL Core Program (Program Element 61153N) and the National Ocean Partnership Program.
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