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A man standing next to large ocean waves at Porto Covo, Portugal Video of large waves from Hurricane Marie along the coast of Newport Beach, California. In fluid dynamics, a wind wave, or wind-generated water wave, is a surface wave that occurs on the free surface of bodies of water as a result of the wind blowing over the water's surface.
Wind speed on the Beaufort scale is based on the empirical relationship: [6] v = 0.836 B 3/2 m/s; v = 1.625 B 3/2 knots (=) where v is the equivalent wind speed at 10 metres above the sea surface and B is Beaufort scale number.
The wind stress is the component of this wind force that is parallel to the surface per unit area. Also, the wind stress can be described as the flux of horizontal momentum applied by the wind on the water surface. The wind stress causes a deformation of the water body whereby wind waves are generated. Also, the wind stress drives ocean ...
From "wind fluctuations": Wind wave formation is started by a random distribution of normal pressure acting on the water from the wind. By this mechanism, proposed by O.M. Phillips in 1957, the water surface is initially at rest, and the generation of the wave is initiated by turbulent wind flows and then by fluctuations of the wind, normal ...
An ocean current is a continuous, directed movement of seawater generated by a number of forces acting upon the water, including wind, the Coriolis effect, breaking waves, cabbeling, and temperature and salinity differences. [1]
Surface currents flow at a 45° angle to the wind due to a balance between the Coriolis force and the drags generated by the wind and the water. [7] If the ocean is divided vertically into thin layers, the magnitude of the velocity (the speed) decreases from a maximum at the surface until it dissipates.
The current velocity is fastest near the surface, with the maximum speed typically about 2.5 m/s (5.6 mph). [25] As it travels north, the warm water transported by the Gulf Stream undergoes evaporative cooling. The cooling is wind-driven; wind moving over the water causes evaporation, cooling the water and increasing its salinity and
The wind speed as a function of height was found by integrating the Orr-Sommerfeld equation with the assumption of a logarithmic boundary layer and that in the equilibrium state no currents below the sea surface exist = (+) where is the von Kármán's constant, = (/) / is the friction velocity, is the Reynolds stress and is the roughness ...