A flux parameterization including the effects of capillary waves and sea state

Dr. Mark A. Bourassa, COAPS/FSU, Tallahassee FL 32306-3041
email: bourassa@coaps.fsu.edu
WWW: http://coaps.fsu.edu/~bourassa

with Dayton G. Vincent¹ and W. L. Wood²

¹ Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Purdue University, Indiana 47907, USA.

2 School of Civil Engineering, Purdue University, Indiana 47907, USA.

A model for significant wave height is coupled with a surface flux model to demonstrate the importance of capillary waves on fluxes and wave age. Fluxes for U₁₀ < 5 m s^-1 are found to be much larger than those modeled without the consideration of capillary waves.

The neutral drag coefficients for various models. The discontinuity in the BVW drag coefficient occurs at the 'point' where the surface makes the transition from a smooth surface to a wave perturbed surface. The imposed assumption of local wind-wave equilibrium causes a jump in the modeled stress. The problem is similar to a phase change in a plot of specific energy as a function of temperature.

Last Updated in the distant past