Effects of three-wave interactions in the gravity-capillary range of wind waves

Abstract

The formation of the spectrum of short wind waves from the gravity-capillary and capillary ranges under the effect of three-wave interactions is considered. In order to determine the spectrum, the kinetic equation for wave packets is integrated to the point where the solution is established. Three-wave interactions are described by a collision integral without introducing any additional assumptions simplifying the problem. This calculation procedure reproduces the Zakharov-Filonenko theoretical spectra, which correspond to the cases of energy equipartition and the inertial range. It is shown that the main role of three-wave interactions lies in the energy transfer from the range of short gravity waves to waves with shorter wavelengths. This transfer is accomplished both locally in the Fourier space and as a result of interactions between short and long waves. Its characteristic features are the formation of a dip on the curvature spectrum in the region of a minimum phase velocity of waves and the formation of a secondary peak in the capillary range. The dip is filled and disappears as the wind speed increases. Taking into account the interaction between short and long waves increases the spectrum in the capillary range several times, and the balance between energy input from long waves and viscous dissipation is established in the capillary range. The energy sink caused by three-wave interactions, viscous dissipation, and wind forcing cannot give the stability of the spectrum of short gravity waves.