Wave breaking is a commonly occurring phenomena associated with wave motion in fluids, often inducing significant effects which are of fundamental and technological importance, A familiar illustration is provided with white-capping and microbreaking of the wind-driven ocean sUrface waves, which is believed to play an important part in the transfers of momentum, mass and heat across the air-sea interface, as well as in the production of underwater ambient noise and augmented microwave backscatter. The enhanced hydrodynamic forces associated with the breaking of the more energetic ocean wave components constitute a significant challenge in ocean engineering, coastal engineering and naval architecture. Other less conspicuous but equally important manifestations are the breaking of internal waves and the fila mentation of vorticity interfaces. Despite recent theoretical and observational progress towards a more complete understanding of wave breaking, mathematical descriptions of its onset and consequences are presently lacking. The aim of this Symposium was to bring together theoretical and observational expertise, with the goal of determining the current state of knowledge of wave breaking and providing a stimulus to future research. The Symposium focused on water waves of all scales from capillary waves to ocean swell, but also considered internal waves and the filamentation of vorticity interfaces. Specific topics included were: Fundamental theoretical studies; wave instabilities; routes to breaking. Models of wave breaking. Field observations, including statistical information. Laboratory studies. Shoaling waves, breaking waves on currents, breaking induced by the motion of a ship.

Klappentext

This book contains the proceedings of the IUTAM Symposium onBreaking Waves,held at the University of New South Wales inJuly 1991. The Symposium brought together theoretical andobservational expertise, and the proceedings provide acurrent and comprehensive account of the present knowledgeof wave breaking, including state-of-the-art reviews andexciting new results. The articles cover water wave breakingof all scales from capillary to ocean swell and includefundamental theoretical studies, wave breaking models, fieldand laboratory observations, shoaling waves and engineeringapplications.

Inhalt

1. Keynote Lectures.- The Physical Consequences of Wave Breaking in Deep Water.- Capillary Rollers and Bores.- Mechanisms of Water-Wave Breaking.- Surf Zone Dynamics.- Inverse and Direct Cascade in the Wind-Driven Surface Wave Turbulence and Wave-Breaking.- 2. Experiments and Observations.- Observations of the Enhancement of Kinetic Energy Dissipation Beneath Breaking Wind Waves.- Microwave Backscattering from Laboratory Wind-Wave Surfaces and its Relation to Wave Breaking with Bubble Entrainment.- Acoustical Measurement of Breaking Surface Waves.- Dependence of Wave-Breaking Statistics on Wind Stress and Wave Development.- Effect of Breaking Waves on the Transport of Heat and Vapor Fluxes from the Oceans.- Sound Production and Air Entrainment by Breaking Waves: A Review of Recent Laboratory Experiments.- Wave Breaking in the Presence of Wind Drift and Opposed Swell.- The Sideband Instability and the Onset of Wave Breaking.- Breaking Wave Statistics Obtained During 'Swade'.- Strong Coupling of Wind and Wind Waves.- 3. Theoretical and Numerical Results.- Possible Mechanisms for Wave Breaking.- The Influence of Wave-Breaking Bubbles on Low-Frequency Underwater Ambient Noise Formation.- Do Stokes' Double Series Converge for Large Amplitude Waves?.- Consequences of the Effect of Surface Gravity Waves on the Mean Air Flow.- The Dissipation Subrange of Wind Wave Spectra.- A Model for the Response of Wave Directions to Changing Wind Directions for Random Breaking Waves.- Mechanisms of Water Wave Transformation in Shear Currents.- Nonlinear Acoustic Phenomena in Subsurface Bubble Layers and its Usage for Bubble Measurements.- Unsteady Free Surface Waves.- The Role of Modulational Instability in the Formation of Wave Groups.- Action of Windstress and Breaking on theEvolution of a Wavetrain.- A Mechanism for Wave Deformation and Breaking Intermediated by Resonant Side-Bands.- Vorticity Generation at a Fluid Interface.- Numerical Experiments on the Evolution of Fetch Limited Waves.- Theoretical Study of Breaking Wave Spectrum and its Application.- 4. Shoaling and Impacting on Structures.- Instability of Surface Water-Wave Solitons Propagating Over an Uneven Bottom.- Violent Motion as Near-Breaking Waves Meet a Vertical Wall.- Shear Stress Distribution in the Surf Zone.- Random Wave Forces on a Vertical Cylinder in the Free Surface Zone at High Reynolds Numbers.- Prediction of Deterministic and Random Force on Structures by Plunging Breaking Waves.- Inclusion of Wave-Breaking Mechanism in a Modified Mild-Slope Model.- Imaging of the Ocean Surf Zone using Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar.- Wave-Breaking due to Moving Submerged Obstacles.- Can Shallow-Water Theory Describe Breaking?.- Breaking Criteria of a Solitary Wave Passing Over a Submerged Obstacle.- 5. Wave Breaking in other Contexts.- Processes Leading to Filamentation of a Potential Vorticity Interface over a Topographic Slope.- Observations of Shock and Undular Bore Formation in Internal Waves at a Shelf Break.- Internal Waves and Turbulence on a Gravity Current Under Ice.- Extreme Standing Waves and Their Stability.