Accurate predictions of the sea state–dependent air–sea momentum flux require a thorough understanding of the wave boundary layer turbulence over surface waves. A set of momentum and energy equations is derived to formulate and analyze wave boundary layer turbulence. The equations are written in wavefollowing coordinates, and all variables are decomposed into horizontalmean, wave fluctuation, a...

Wind turbines generate electricity from turbulent wind. Large fluctuations, and, more importantly, frequent wind gusts cause a highly fluctuating electrical power feed into the grid. Such effects are the hallmark of high-frequency turbulence. Here we show evidence that it is the complex structure of turbulence that dominates the power output for one single wind turbine as well as for an entire ...

Recent observations suggest that the export of Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) from the Weddell Sea has a seasonal cycle in its temperature and salinity that is correlated with annual wind stress variations. This variability has been attributed to annual vertical excursions of the isopycnals in theWeddell Gyre, modifying the water properties at the depth of the Orkney Passage. Recent studies attr...

A coupled system of wind, wind wave, and coastal circulation models has been implemented for southern Louisiana and Mississippi to simulate riverine flows, tides, wind waves, and hurricane storm surge in the region. The system combines the NOAA Hurricane Research Division Wind Analysis System (H*WIND) and the Interactive Objective Kinematic Analysis (IOKA) kinematic wind analyses, the Wave Mode...

Wind-driven sand transport generates atmospheric dust, forms dunes, and sculpts landscapes. However, it remains unclear how the flux of particles in aeolian saltation-the wind-driven transport of sand in hopping trajectories-scales with wind speed, largely because models do not agree on how particle speeds and trajectories change with wind shear velocity. We present comprehensive measurements, ...

Numerical models are used to test whether the meridional overturning circulation (MOC) can be reconstructed from boundary densities and the wind stress. In idealized model setups without topography the strength as well as the temporal and spatial variability of the MOC cell can largely be reproduced from boundary densities and the zonal wind stress. With added slopes along the meridional bounda...

Monthly circulation of the South Atlantic Bight is diagnosed using a 3-D, shallow water, finite element model forced with monthly wind stress and hydrographic climatology. Temperature and salinity observations from the period 1950-99 are objectively interpolated onto the model domain, and Comprehensive Ocean-Atmosphere Data Set (COADS) wind velocities from 1975-1999 are used to prescribe the mo...

We investigate the rapidly changing equilibrium between the momentum sources and sinks during the passage of a single two-peak storm over the Catalan inner shelf (NW Mediterranean Sea). Velocity measurements at 24 m water depth are taken as representative of the inner shelf, and the cross-shelf variability is explored with measurements at 50 m water depth. During both wind pulses, the flow acce...