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Kelvin-Helmholtz waves in the ocean?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 April 2006

J. J. Mahony
J. J. Mahony
Affiliation:
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218
Permanent address: Department of Mathematics, University of Western Australia, Nedlands.
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Abstract

Large amplitude short waves confined near the crests of a swell have been observed when a stiff breeze was blowing against the swell. This would seem to imply the existence of both a wavelength-selective generating mechanism and a trapping mechanism, neither of which is to be expected of surface gravity waves of the observed length. It is suggested that there are significant changes in the dynamics of such waves if allowance is made for the dynamic coupling between wind and waves. For a Kelvin-Helmholtz model it is shown that energy transfer rates from the turbulent pressure fluctuations are greatly enhanced for subcritical conditions by the inclusion of the dynamic coupling. The group velocity of subcritical waves is profoundly affected, becoming infinite at the stability boundary. Thus subcritical waves could be trapped on a swell. An examination of the effects of wind shear suggest that Kelvin-Helmholtz type instability could still be present, although for stronger winds, particularly for rather longer waves.

The energy and momentum fed from the mean wind, being trapped at crests of the swell, may contribute significantly to the attenuation of the swell. The profound wave dynamic effects of the coupling between the wind and the swell for short gravity waves may be of significance in other oceanic phenomena, even when the Kelvin-Helmholtz type of instability is not present.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Fluid Mechanics , Volume 82 , Issue 1 , 19 August 1977 , pp. 1 - 16
Copyright
© 1977 Cambridge University Press

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