Ocean bottom pressure records from the Cascadia array and short surface gravity waves

The ocean bottom pressure records from eight stations of the Cascadia array are used to investigate the properties of short surface gravity waves with frequencies ranging from 0.2 to 5 Hz. It is found that the pressure spectrum at all sites is a well-defined function of the wind speed U10 and frequency f, with only a minor shift of a few dB from one site to another that can be attributed to variations in bottom properties. This observation can be combined with the theoretical prediction that the ocean bottom pressure spectrum is proportional to the surface gravity wave spectrum E(f) squared, times the overlap integral I(f) which is given by the directional wave spectrum at each frequency. This combination, using E(f) estimated from modeled spectra or parametric spectra, yields an overlap integral I(f) that is a function of the local wave age inline image. This function is maximum for f∕fPM = 8 and decreases by 10 dB for f∕fPM = 2 and f∕fPM = 30. This shape of I(f) can be interpreted as a maximum width of the directional wave spectrum at f∕fPM = 8, possibly equivalent to an isotropic directional spectrum, and a narrower directional distribution toward both the dominant low frequencies and the higher capillary-gravity wave frequencies.

Effects of an asymmetric friction on the nonlinear equilibration of a baroclinic system

Following some recent linear and nonlinear studies the authors examine, using numerical simulations of a classical two-layer model, the effect of an asymmetric friction on the nonlinear equilibrium of moderately unstable baroclinic systems, The results show that the presence of an asymmetric friction leads to a significant wave scale selection: ''long'' waves (in terms of their zonal wavelengths) emerge with a traditional asymmetric friction (with the upper layer less viscous than the lower layer), while only ''short'' waves dominate with a nontraditional asymmetric friction (with the lower layer less viscous than the upper layer). The role of the nonlinear interactions and. more precisely, the effects of an asymmetric friction on the wave-mean flow and wave-wave interactions; and their consequences on the wave scale selection are examined.