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Measurements of the viscous tangential stress in the airflow above wind waves
Author(s) -
Veron F.,
Saxena G.,
Misra S. K.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2007gl031242
Subject(s) - airflow , wind stress , mechanics , turbulence , drag , geology , viscous stress tensor , meteorology , atmospheric sciences , physics , classical mechanics , cauchy stress tensor , thermodynamics
The stress and drag at the surface of the ocean are crucial parameters for both short term forecasting and the modeling of long‐term global climate trends. However, the partition between viscous, turbulent, and wave stresses, and in particular the effects of airflow separation are not well understood. We present direct measurements of the velocity in the airflow above wind‐generated waves. We observe intermittent separation of the viscous sublayer past the crest of the wind waves leading to dramatic along‐wave variability in the surface viscous tangential stress. These results hold for wind speeds that would normally be considered low to moderate. These viscous stress measurements in the airflow above the wavy surface, and within the separated region are, to the best of the authors' knowledge, the first of this kind.