The Vertical Mean Wind Profile Over the Ocean for Light to Moderate Winds
Open Access
- 1 June 1970
- journal article
- Published by American Meteorological Society in Journal of Applied Meteorology
- Vol. 9 (3) , 389-395
- https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0450(1970)009<0389:tvmwpo>2.0.co;2
Abstract
Analysis of 299 wind profile observations collected at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology oceano-graphic research platform provides a detailed picture of the behavior of wind profile parameters. A plot of roughness length vs velocity suggests the existence of classical hydrodynamic phenomena such as Jeffreys’ minimum wind speed and the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability. The friction velocity appears to be, in general, a linear function of the wind velocity, except in regions where discontinuities exist. It is suggested that the air flow regime over the ocean in the wind range of 2-10 m sec−1 (measured at a height of 10 m) is best described as a region of constant drag coefficient (CD = 1.6 × 10−3) modified by the superposition of almost singular departures at a number of discrete wind speeds, apparently caused by the onset of distinct instabilities at the water's surface.Keywords
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