On the evolution of the system of wind drift currents and Langmuir circulations in the ocean. Part 1. Theory and averaged current

Abstract

A theory for the evolution of the wind drift current and of the Langmuir circulations in infinitely deep water of constant density is presented. The model improves and extends a recent quasi-steady theory of Craik & Leibovich which asserts that the Langmuir circulations arise from a nonlinear interaction between surface waves and the frictional wind drift current. In turn, the development of the wind drift should be strongly influenced by Langmuir circulations, when they are present, and the two current systems are therefore treated here as a single inseparable system driven by a prescribed wind stress and surface wave field. Mixing by the vertical motions in the Langmuir circulations is shown to yield solutions for the wind drift, obtained both analytically and numerically, which are consistent with experiments and with field observations. The model yields a streaky flow pattern with a mean motion much like a turbulent wall layer, although the model is deterministic. In particular, it is found that a ‘viscous sublayer’ joins surface water to a logarithmic ‘inertial sublayer’ below. The scaling rules that emerge from the theory allow the surface speed of the wind drift to reach nearly full development in a matter of minutes.