Theoretical interpretation of fetch limited wind-driven sea observations

Abstract

We show that the results of major fetch limited field studies of wind-generated surface gravity waves on deep water can be explained in the framework of simple analytical model. The spectra measured in these experiments are described by self-similar solutions of "conservative" Hasselmann equation that includes only advective and nonlinear interaction terms. Interaction with the wind and dissipation due to the wave breaking indirectly defines parameters of the self-similar solutions. © 2005 Author(s). This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.