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Observations of Wave‐Breaking Direction and Energy Spread

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Bibliographic Details
Title: Observations of Wave‐Breaking Direction and Energy Spread
Authors: Bernard Akaawase, Leonel Romero, Alvise Benetazzo
Source: Geophysical Research Letters, Vol 52, Iss 14, Pp n/a-n/a (2025)
Publisher Information: American Geophysical Union (AGU), 2025.
Publication Year: 2025
Subject Terms: energy dissipation, observations, wave spectrum, directional spreading, QC801-809, wave breaking, ocean surface waves, Geophysics. Cosmic physics
Description: Surface waves are important for remote sensing, air–sea exchange, and underwater acoustics. The short gravity wave spectrum is azimuthally broad and bimodal. However, widely used wave models fail to reproduce the degree of observed spreading and azimuthal bimodality. Recent studies show that an azimuthally narrow spectral breaking dissipation due to long‐wave short‐wave modulation significantly improves model performance, highlighting the importance of better understanding the directionality of breaking kinematics. We utilized visible stereo imagery to investigate the directional wave‐breaking kinematics relative to the energy spectrum under aligned and misaligned winds and dominant waves. The results show that the statistical distribution of wave‐breaking kinematics closely aligns with the direction of the dominant waves and is azimuthally unimodal and narrower than the bimodal energy spectrum. These findings confirm the importance of exploring the directionality of breaking to improve our understanding of the spectral energy balance and spectral wave models within the short‐gravity range.
Document Type: Article
Language: English
ISSN: 1944-8007
0094-8276
DOI: 10.1029/2025gl116452
Access URL: https://doaj.org/article/2542eb1e48ef41a68bc155f2a29964b5
Rights: CC BY
Accession Number: edsair.doi.dedup.....b0d8c160150ec3b1c6e6f911c4c835a3
Database: OpenAIRE
Description
Abstract:Surface waves are important for remote sensing, air–sea exchange, and underwater acoustics. The short gravity wave spectrum is azimuthally broad and bimodal. However, widely used wave models fail to reproduce the degree of observed spreading and azimuthal bimodality. Recent studies show that an azimuthally narrow spectral breaking dissipation due to long‐wave short‐wave modulation significantly improves model performance, highlighting the importance of better understanding the directionality of breaking kinematics. We utilized visible stereo imagery to investigate the directional wave‐breaking kinematics relative to the energy spectrum under aligned and misaligned winds and dominant waves. The results show that the statistical distribution of wave‐breaking kinematics closely aligns with the direction of the dominant waves and is azimuthally unimodal and narrower than the bimodal energy spectrum. These findings confirm the importance of exploring the directionality of breaking to improve our understanding of the spectral energy balance and spectral wave models within the short‐gravity range.
ISSN:19448007
00948276
DOI:10.1029/2025gl116452