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Article: Wave-Induced Wind in the Marine Boundary Layer
- Article from:
- Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences
- Article date:
- August 1, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright American Meteorological Society Aug 2009. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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ABSTRACT
Recent field observations and large-eddy simulations have shown that the impact of fast swell on the marine atmospheric boundary layer (MABL) might be stronger than previously assumed. For low to moderate winds blowing in the same direction as the waves, swell propagates faster than the mean wind. The momentum flux above the sea surface will then have two major components: the turbulent shear stress, directed downward, and the swell-induced stress, directed upward. For sufficiently high wave age values, the wave-induced component becomes increasingly dominant, and the total momentum flux will be directed into the atmosphere. Recent field measurements have shown that this upward ...