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A wave-interaction model for the generation of windrows

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 March 2006

Alex D. D. Craik
Affiliation:
Department of Applied Mathematics, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife, Scotland

Abstract

Interactions of suitable pairs of gravity waves in a shear flow are found to give rise to aperiodic or weakly periodic secondary motions. These secondary flows resemble the ‘Langmuir vortices’ which are associated with the formation of windrows. It seems likely that such wave interactions will play a substantial part in determining the quasi-steady structure of the flow when wind blows over a water surface.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 1970 Cambridge University Press

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