THE GENERATION OF THE FIRST VISIBLE WIND-WAVES

In this paper we report the results of the first laboratory study on t he relationship between the initial growth of the shea wind waves and the simultaneous development of the wind-induced drift current. The ph enomenon of the first visible ripples appearing ''suddenly'' on the wa ter surface and forming V-shaped streaks aligned with the wind is expl ained. We show that the laminar-turbulent transition of the near surfa ce water flow causes an explosive growth of the initial wind-generated ripples. The grown ripples become visible and thus mark the surface o f the well-localized V-shaped turbulent zones forming the streaks. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics.