Open AccessThe Role of Nonlinear Momentum Fluxes on the Evolution of Directional Wind-Wave Spectra
Author(s) -
Donald T. Resio,
Charles E. Long,
William Perrie
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
journal of physical oceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.706
H-Index - 143
eISSN - 1520-0485
pISSN - 0022-3670
DOI - 10.1175/2010jpo4545.1
Subject(s) - spectral line , flux (metallurgy) , physics , momentum (technical analysis) , energy flux , nonlinear system , constant (computer programming) , wind wave , wavenumber , angular momentum , range (aeronautics) , electromagnetic spectrum , computational physics , classical mechanics , quantum mechanics , chemistry , materials science , organic chemistry , finance , computer science , economics , composite material , thermodynamics , programming language
It has long been known that nonlinear wave–wave interactions produce stationary solutions related to constant energy flux through the equilibrium range when a deep-water spectrum follows an f−4 form, as has been verified in numerical studies in which spectra follow a constant angular spreading distribution. This paper shows that, although energy fluxes through such spectra remain essentially constant, momentum fluxes do not. On the other hand, if the angular distribution of a spectrum is allowed to behave in a manner consistent with observations, both the energy flux and the momentum flux tend to remain constant through a major portion of the spectrum. Thus, it appears that directional distributions of energy within wind-wave spectra adjust to a form consistent with nondivergent nonlinear fluxes, suggesting that these fluxes likely play a very prominent role in the evolution of directional spectra during wave generation.