Wind-wave stabilization by a foam layer between the atmosphere and the ocean

Details Wind-wave stabilization by a foam layer between the atmosphere and the ocean Wind-wave stabilization by a foam layer between the atmosphere and the ocean

2009-09-07

arxiv.org/abs/0909.1354v4

Physics

Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics

The second paragraph in Section 4 'Summary, discussion and conclusions' is edited and transferred from page 14 of version 3 to

Scientific paper

The study is motivated by recent findings of the decrease in the momentum transfer from strong winds to sea. The Kelvin-Helmholtz instability (KHI) of a three-fluid system of air, foam and water is examined within the range of intermediately short surface waves. The foam layer thickness necessary for effective separation of the atmosphere and the ocean is estimated. Due to high density contrasts in the three-fluid system, even a relatively thin foam layer between the atmosphere and the ocean can provide a significant stabilization of the water surface by the wavelength shift of the instability towards smaller scales. It is conjectured that such stabilization qualitatively explains the observed reduction of roughness and drag.

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