Observation of depth-induced properties in wave turbulence on the surface of a fluid

TL;DR

This study investigates how finite fluid depth influences wave turbulence on a fluid surface, revealing depth-dependent spectral features and amplitude statistics, with implications for understanding wave dynamics.

Contribution

It provides new experimental insights into depth-induced modifications of wave turbulence spectra and amplitude distributions in gravity-capillary waves.

Findings

A hump appears in the wave spectrum in the capillary regime depending on depth.

The gravity wave spectrum's power law exponent varies with depth.

The wave amplitude distribution remains consistent across depths, fitting a Tayfun distribution.

Abstract

We report the observation of changes in the wave turbulence properties of gravity-capillary surface waves due to a finite depth effect. When the fluid depth is decreased, a hump is observed on the wave spectrum in the capillary regime at a scale that depends on the depth. The possible origin of this hump is discussed. In the gravity regime, the wave spectrum still shows a power law but with an exponent that strongly depends on the depth. A change in the scaling of the gravity spectrum with the mean injected power is also reported. Finally, the probability density function of the wave amplitude rescaled by its rms value is found to be independent of the fluid depth and to be well described by a Tayfun distribution.