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On the evolution of the system of wind drift currents and Langmuir circulations in the ocean. Part 2. Structure of the Langmuir vortices

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 April 2006

S. Leibovich  and
K. Radhakrishnan
S. Leibovich
Affiliation:
Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853
K. Radhakrishnan
Affiliation:
Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853 Present address: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
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Abstract

Numerical solutions are presented for the detailed characteristics of the drift current and Langmuir circulation system produced according to a theory described in part 1 of this paper. The motions that develop are traced from an initially quiescent state, and the results are compared with field observations of currents in Langmuir circulations. Qualitative features of the phenomenon appear to be reproduced by the theory and, with the appropriate choice of an empirical parameter, the solutions seem to be quantitatively consistent with field data.

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Fluid Mechanics , Volume 80 , Issue 3 , 2 May 1977 , pp. 481 - 507
Copyright
© 1977 Cambridge University Press

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