A theoretical study of the upper bound of surface elevation variance in the Phillips initial stage during wind-wave generation

TL;DR

This paper develops an analytical model to quantify the upper bound of surface wave energy growth during the initial wind-wave generation stage, emphasizing the effects of surface tension and distinguishing between gravity and gravity-capillary waves.

Contribution

It introduces a novel complex analysis method to derive an analytical upper bound for wave energy, incorporating surface tension effects and differentiating wave behaviors based on wind strength.

Findings

Surface tension significantly influences wave energy growth.

Gravity waves exhibit indefinite resonance curve extension.

Gravity-capillary waves have finite or no resonance curves depending on wind speed.

Abstract

The resonance mechanism in the initial stage of wind-wave generation proposed by Phillips (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 2, 1957, 417$\unicode{x2013}$445) is a foundation of wind-wave generation theory, but a precise theoretical quantification of wave energy growth in this initial stage has not been obtained yet after more than six decades of research. In this study, we aim to address this knowledge gap by developing an analytical approach based on a novel complex analysis method to theoretically investigate the temporal evolution of the wave energy in the Phillips initial stage. We quantitatively derive and analyse the growth behaviour of the surface wave energy and obtain an analytical solution for its upper bound. Our result highlights the crucial effects of surface tension. Because the phase velocity of gravity$\unicode{x2013}$capillary waves has a minimal value at a critical wavenumber, gravity$\unicode{x2013}$capillary waves and gravity waves (which neglect surface tension) exhibit distinct resonance curve properties and wave energy growth behaviours. For gravity waves, the resonance curve extends indefinitely; for gravity$\unicode{x2013}$capillary waves, it either forms a finite-length curve or does not exist, depending on the wind speed. The leading-order term of the upper-bound solution of the energy of gravity waves increases linearly over time, while for gravity$\unicode{x2013}$capillary waves, the term increases linearly over time under strong wind conditions but remains finite under weak wind conditions. This theoretical study provides an analytical framework for the generation of wind-waves in the Phillips initial stage, which may inspire further theoretical, numerical, and experimental research.