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arXiv · 2506.17802

Growth rate and energy dissipation in wind-forced breaking waves

Nicolò Scapin·Jiarong Wu·J. Thomas Farrar·Bertrand Chapron·Stéphane Popinet·Luc Deike
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Abstract

We investigate the energy growth and dissipation of wind-forced breaking waves at high wind speed using direct numerical simulations of the coupled air-water Navier-Stokes equations. A turbulent wind boundary layer drives the growth of a pre-existing narrowband wave field until it breaks, transferring energy into the water column. Under sustained wind forcing, the wave field resumes growth. We separately analyze energy transfers during wave growth and breaking-induced dissipation. Energy transfers are dominated by pressure input during growth and turbulent dissipation during breaking. Wind input during growth is balanced with dissipation during breaking over an entire growing-breaking cycle. The wave growth rate scales with $(u_\ast/c)^2$, modulated by the wave steepness due to sheltering, and the energy dissipation follows the inertial scaling with wave slope at breaking, confirming the universality of the process. Following breaking, near-surface vertical turbulence dissipation profiles scale as $z^{-1}$, with their magnitude controlled by the breaking-induced dissipation.

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Nicolò Scapin, Jiarong Wu, J. Thomas Farrar, Bertrand Chapron, Stéphane Popinet, Luc Deike. 2025-10-12. Growth rate and energy dissipation in wind-forced breaking waves. https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.17802

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