The surface velocity field in steep and breaking waves
- 21 April 1988
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in Journal of Fluid Mechanics
- Vol. 189, 1-22
- https://doi.org/10.1017/s0022112088000898
Abstract
Coincident simultaneous measurements of the surface displacement and the horizontal velocity at the surface of steep and breaking waves are presented. The measurements involve a novel use of laser anemometry at the fluctuating air-water interface and clearly show the limitations of surface displacement measurements in characterizing steep and breaking wave fields. The measurements are used to examine the evolution of the surface drift velocity, spectra, wave envelopes, and forced long waves in unstable deep-water waves. Preliminary results of this work were reported by Melville & Rapp (1983).Keywords
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