Directional wind wave development

Steven R. Long, Norden E. Huang, Erik Mollo‐Christensen, Frederick C. Jackson, Gerald L. Geernaert

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

Using aircraft radar instruments designed for sea surface wave measurements, we have obtained fetch‐limited directional wind wave spectra under steady off‐shore wind conditions. The results from these observations in different areas at different times show that, up to a fetch of 150 km, the dominant waves propagate at an angle to the wind. The angle is near to that suggested by the Phillips resonance wind wave generation condition, but with one important difference: The waves are not always symmetric to the left and right of the wind. Most of the cases show the eventual dominance of one side lobe. The asymmetry of the wave direction relative to the wind suggests that the surface wind stress vector may not always be parallel to the mean wind direction.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2503-2506
Number of pages4
JournalGeophysical Research Letters
Volume21
Issue number23
DOIs
StatePublished - 15 Nov 1994

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