Energy dissipation by breaking waves

Abstract

Recent field measurements by Agrawal et al. have provided evidence of a shallow surface mixed layer in which the rate of dissipation due to turbulence is one to two orders of magnitude greater than that in a comparable turbulent boundary layer over a rigid wall. Wave-age-dependent scaling of the dissipation layer is proposed. Laboratory measurements of dissipation rates in both unsteady and quasi-steady breaking waves are examined. The application of these results to models of dissipation due to breaking and air-sea fluxes is discussed. -from Author