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On the microphysical behaviour of wind-forced water surfaces and consequent re-aeration

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 March 2014

William L. Peirson ,
James W. Walker  and
Michael L. Banner
William L. Peirson*
Affiliation:
Water Research Laboratory, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of New South Wales, King St, Manly Vale, NSW 2093, Australia
James W. Walker
Affiliation:
Water Research Laboratory, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of New South Wales, King St, Manly Vale, NSW 2093, Australia
Michael L. Banner
Affiliation:
School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
*
†Email address for correspondence: w.peirson@unsw.edu.au
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Abstract

A detailed laboratory investigation of the mechanical and low-solubility gas coupling between wind and water has been undertaken using a suite of microphysical measurement techniques. Under a variety of wind conditions and in the presence and absence of mechanically generated short waves, approximately fetch-independent surface conditions have been achieved over short laboratory fetches of several metres. The mechanical coupling of the surface is found to be consistent with Banner (J. Fluid Mech. vol. 211, 1990, pp. 463–495) and Banner & Peirson (J. Fluid Mech. vol. 364, 1998, pp. 115–145). Bulk observations of re-aeration are consistent with previous laboratory studies. The surface kinematical behaviour is in accordance with the observations of Peirson & Banner (J. Fluid Mech. vol. 479, 2003, pp. 1–38). Also, their predictions of a strong enhancement of low-solubility gas flux at the onset of microscale breaking is confirmed and direct observations show a concomitant onset of very thin aqueous diffusion sublayers. It is found that the development of strong parasitic capillary waves towards the incipient breaking limit does not noticeably enhance constituent transfer. Across the broad range of conditions investigated during this study, the local instantaneous constituent transfer rate remains approximately log-normally distributed with an approximately constant standard deviation of $0.62\pm 0.15({\mathrm{log}}_e(\mathrm{m}~ {\mathrm{s}}^{-1}))$. Although wind-forced water surfaces are shown to be punctuated by intense tangential stresses and local surface convergence, localized surface convergence does not appear to be the single critical factor determining exchange rate. Larger-scale orbital wave straining is found to be a significant constituent transfer process in contrast to Witting (J. Fluid Mech. vol. 50, 1971, pp. 321–334) findings for heat fluxes, but the measured effects are consistent with his model. By comparing transfer rates in the presence and absence of microscale breaking, low-solubility gas transfer was decomposed into its turbulent/capillary ripple, gravity-wave-related and microscale breaking contributions. It was found that an efficiency factor of approximately $17\, \%$ needs to be applied to Peirson & Banner’s model, which is extended to field conditions. Although bulk thermal effects were observed and thermal diffusion layers are presumed thicker than their mass diffusion counterparts, significant thermal influences were not observed in the results.

JFM classification

Geophysical and Geological Flows: Air/sea interactions Waves/Free-surface Flows: Wind-wave interactions
Type
Papers
Information
Journal of Fluid Mechanics , Volume 743 , 25 March 2014 , pp. 399 - 447
Copyright
© 2014 Cambridge University Press 

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Footnotes

‡

Present address: Sogreah Gulf – Artelia Group, PO Box 18271, Dubai, UAE.

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