Abstract-
Transfers of mass, momentum and energy between the atmosphere and the ocean play
an important role in the evolution of weather and climate. Much of the momentum
flux from the atmosphere to the ocean first goes into generating waves, which in
turn give up that momentum to currents by breaking. Breaking waves directly mix
the upper boundary layer (mixed layer) of the ocean, enhancing heat and gas
transfer. Breaking entrains bubbles that also contribute to gas transfer as they
are carried down to depth and dissolve. The same bubbles are an important source
of ambient noise in the ocean. Breaking directly generates spray and aerosols,
which may become condensation nucleii for clouds. Aerosols are also generated as
the larger entrained bubbles rise back to the surface and burst, ejecting small
droplets into the atmosphere. An improved understanding of breaking and its
incidence at the ocean surface will contribute to an improved understanding of
all these aspects of air-sea interaction. In this talk, I will present recent
laboratory and field measurements that address the scaling of the kinematics and
dynamics of breaking, and the statistical description of breaking at the ocean
surface. The field measurements use modern quantitative airborne imaging
techniques, (adapted from laboratory techniques in fluid mechanics) to measure
the kinematics of breaking at the ocean surface.
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