ON THE EQUILIBRIUM SPECTRUM OF GRAVITY-CAPILLARY WAVES

The equilibrium spectra of unidirectional gravity-capillary waves are derived from the wave-action balance equation. The calculations includ e nonlinear triad interactions, direct energy input from the wind, and viscous dissipation. Known equilibrium spectra for short gravity wave s, which interact with the capillary waves, are taken as input. The re sults differ significantly from the standard power law solutions and i ndicate that the spectra for gravity-capillary waves in an oceanic env ironment can be rather different from those obtained in laboratory exp eriments.