Abstract
Whitecaps in deep water are located near maximum slopes of the interference pattern of dominant wind waves and the most probable breaking waves are those waves that travel with the speed of the component of the interference pattern in the wind direction. These breaking waves are in the wavelength range 1 to 12 m, much shorter than typical dominant waves. The patterns of large steepness caused by interfering dominant waves move at speeds less than the group speed of the dominant wave unless the wave spectrum is narrow in both wavenumber and azimuth. For spectra with wavenumber and azimuth angle spreads representative of those observed on the ocean, the velocity of propagation of the pattern of steep waves in the wind direction is the same as the speed at the maximum of Phillips Λ(c) function, the speed of the peak of HH Doppler spectra, and the speed measured by acoustic event tracking.
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