The role of Lagrangian drift in the generation of surface waves by wind

TL;DR

This paper uses a nonlinear Lagrangian analysis to reveal how wave-induced mean flows and Lagrangian drift influence surface wave growth by wind, offering new insights into wave generation mechanisms and potential improvements in wind-stress modeling.

Contribution

It introduces a third-order nonlinear analysis in the Lagrangian frame that extends classic Miles theory, highlighting the impact of Lagrangian drift on wave growth and air-sea interaction.

Findings

Wave-induced mean flow suppresses wave growth at higher steepness.

Lagrangian drift affects the coupling at the critical level, reducing momentum transfer efficiency.

The analysis aligns with observations and suggests new pathways for wind-stress parameterization.

Abstract

A nonlinear stability analysis entirely in the Lagrangian frame is conducted, revealing the fundamental role of the wave-induced mean flow in modifying further wave growth and providing new insight into the classic problem of wave generation by wind. The prevailing theory, a critical-layer resonance mechanism proposed by Miles (1957), has seen numerous refinements; yet, the role of Lagrangian drift -- the velocity a fluid parcel actually experiences -- in wave growth was not understood. Our analysis first recovers the classic Miles growth rate from linear theory before extending it to third order in the wave slope to derive a modified growth rate. The leading-order wave-induced mean flow alters the higher-order instability, manifesting as a suppression of growth with increasing wave steepness for the realistic wind profiles considered. This result is qualitatively consistent with observations. An integral momentum budget suggests that the wave-induced current alters the coupling between the total phase speed and the total Lagrangian mean flow at the critical level (as defined in the linear theory), thereby reducing the efficiency of momentum transfer. Notably, this Lagrangian drift is precisely what Doppler-shift based remote sensing of upper ocean currents measure, providing a direct observational pathway to account for this wave-induced feedback in studies of air-sea coupling. More broadly, this approach provides a new methodology for analyzing shear instabilities in general and a direct path towards refining wind-stress parameterizations.