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Universality of sea wave growth and its physical roots

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 September 2015

Vladimir E. Zakharov ,
Sergei I. Badulin ,
Paul A. Hwang  and
Guillemette Caulliez
Vladimir E. Zakharov
Affiliation:
University of Arizona, Tuscon, AZ, USA Laboratory of Nonlinear Wave Processes, Novosibirsk State University, Russia P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia
Sergei I. Badulin*
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Nonlinear Wave Processes, Novosibirsk State University, Russia P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology of Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
Paul A. Hwang
Affiliation:
Remote Sensing Division, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC, USA
Guillemette Caulliez
Affiliation:
Aix-Marseille Université, Université de Toulon, CNRS/INSU, IRD, MIO, UM 110, 13288, Marseille, CEDEX 09, France
*
†Email address for correspondence: badulin@ioran.ru
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Abstract

Assuming resonant nonlinear wave interactions to be the dominant physical mechanism of growing wind-driven seas we propose a concise relationship between instantaneous wave steepness and time or fetch of wave development expressed in dimensionless wave periods or lengths. This asymptotic physical law derived from the first principles of the theory of weak turbulence does not contain wind speed explicitly. The validity of this law is illustrated by results of numerical simulations, in situ measurements of growing wind seas and wind-wave tank observations. The impact of this new view of sea-wave physics is discussed in the context of conventional approaches to wave modelling and forecasting.

JFM classification

Geophysical and Geological Flows: Air/sea interactions Waves/Free-surface Flows: Surface gravity waves
Type
Papers
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Journal of Fluid Mechanics , Volume 780 , 10 October 2015 , pp. 503 - 535
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© 2015 Cambridge University Press 

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