[1] A Rossby wave breaking identification method is presented which searches for overturning of absolute vorticity contours on pressure surfaces. The results are compared to those from an analysis of isentropic potential vorticity, and it is demonstrated that both yield similar wave breaking distributions. As absolute vorticity is easily obtained from most model output, we present wave breaking...

A Boussinesq-type wave model is developed to numerically investigate the breaking waves and wave-induced currents. All the nonlinear terms are retained in the governing equations to keep fully nonlinearity characteristics and it hence more suitable to describe breaking waves with strong nonlinearity in the nearshore region. The Boussinesq equations are firstly extended to incorporate wave break...

Breaking without air entrainment of very short wind-forced waves, or microscale wave breaking, is undoubtedly widespread over the oceans and may prove to be a significant mechanism for enhancing the transfer of heat and gas across the air-sea interface. However, quantifying the effects of microscale wave breaking has been difficult because the phenomenon lacks the visible manifestation of white...

Wave breaking is important for understanding of both sea wave dynamics and microwave scattering/emission of the ocean. Experimental studies of breaking waves are mostly related to tank measurements and to a lesser extent to field observations [1, 2]. Theoretical results regarding wave breaking are mostly obtained by numerical simulation [3]. Comparison of those with tank experiments leads to th...

Remote sensors operating at electromagnetic wavelengths cannot significantly penetrate ocean water but are effective at observing surface phenomena (such as waves andwinds). Radar remote sensing can also be used to measure ocean currents and the presence of surfactants or slicks. These capabilities are presently being exploited to track the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, for example. For radars tran...

This is the first of a two-part investigation of a coupled wind and wave model that includes the enhanced form drag of breaking waves. In Part I here the model is developed and applied to mature seas. Part II explores the solutions in a wide range of wind and wave conditions, including growing seas. Breaking and nonbreaking waves induce air-side fluxes of momentum and energy above the air–sea i...

An experimental and numerical study is presented to investigate the breaking criterion of Song and Banner [J. Phys. Oceanogr. 32, 2541 (2002)] who suggested a threshold range of 3 (1.4 0.1) 10 for a predictive wave breaking parameter, measuring the rate of change of the local energy maximum and the local wave number, to differentiate between wave trains that lead to breaking and those that do n...

The effect of electron collisions on reducing the wave-breaking amplitude of resonantly-driven electrostatic fields in a cold plasma is investigated. By means of a simple theory collisions are shown to compete with wave-breaking in dissipating wave energy.

Large scale laboratory experiments concerning breaking wave propagation over a fixed-bed, barred beach were performed. The primary observations of interest were video intensity time series obtained from a set of high-resolution video cameras in order to study the onset of wave breaking in shallow water and wave roller transformation in the surf zone. The approach is new in the sense that the an...