scholarly journals Temporal evolution of the bubble plumes generated by breaking waves: Acoustical implications.

1992 ◽  
Vol 91 (4) ◽  
pp. 2322-2323
Author(s):  
Edward C. Monahan ◽  
Qin Wang
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen Czerski ◽  
Ian M. Brooks ◽  
Steve Gunn ◽  
Robin Pascal ◽  
Adrian Matei ◽  
...  

Abstract. The bubbles generated by breaking waves are of considerable scientific interest due to their influence on air-sea gas transfer, aerosol production, and upper ocean optics and acoustics. However, a detailed understanding of the processes creating deeper bubble plumes (extending 2–10 metres below the ocean surface) and their significance for air-sea gas exchange is still lacking. Here, we present bubble measurements from the HiWinGS expedition in the North Atlantic in 2013, collected during several storms with wind speeds of 10–27 m s−1. A suite of instruments was used to measure bubbles from a self-orienting free-floating spar buoy: a specialised bubble camera, acoustical resonators, and an upward-pointing sonar. The focus in this paper is on bubble void fractions and plume structure. The results are consistent with the presence of a heterogeneous shallow bubble layer occupying the top 1–2 m of the ocean which is regularly replenished by breaking waves, and deeper plumes which are only formed from the shallow layer at the convergence zones of Langmuir circulation. These advection events are not directly connected to surface breaking. The void fraction distributions at 2 m depth show a sharp cut-off at a void fraction of 10−4.5 even in the highest winds, implying the existence of mechanisms limiting the void fractions close to the surface. Below wind speeds of 16 m s−1 or RHw = 2 × 106, the probability distribution of void fraction at 2 m depth is very similar in all conditions, but increases significantly above either threshold. Void fractions are significantly different during periods of rising and falling winds, but there is no distinction with wave age. There is a complex near-surface flow structure due to Langmuir circulation, Stokes drift, and wind-induced current shear which influences the spatial distribution of bubbles within the top few metres. We do not see evidence for slow bubble dissolution as bubbles are carried downwards, implying that collapse is the more likely termination process. We conclude that the shallow and deeper bubble layers need to be studied simultaneously to link them to the 3D flow patterns in the top few metres of the ocean. Many open questions remain about the extent to which deep bubble plumes contribute to air-sea gas transfer. A companion paper (Czerski, 2021) addresses the observed bubble size distributions and the processes responsible for them.


1993 ◽  
Vol 93 (4) ◽  
pp. 2379-2379
Author(s):  
Peter H. Dahl ◽  
Andrew T. Jessup
Keyword(s):  

2020 ◽  
pp. 34-42
Author(s):  
Thibault Chastel ◽  
Kevin Botten ◽  
Nathalie Durand ◽  
Nicole Goutal

Seagrass meadows are essential for protection of coastal erosion by damping wave and stabilizing the seabed. Seagrass are considered as a source of water resistance which modifies strongly the wave dynamics. As a part of EDF R & D seagrass restoration project in the Berre lagoon, we quantify the wave attenuation due to artificial vegetation distributed in a flume. Experiments have been conducted at Saint-Venant Hydraulics Laboratory wave flume (Chatou, France). We measure the wave damping with 13 resistive waves gauges along a distance L = 22.5 m for the “low” density and L = 12.15 m for the “high” density of vegetation mimics. A JONSWAP spectrum is used for the generation of irregular waves with significant wave height Hs ranging from 0.10 to 0.23 m and peak period Tp ranging from 1 to 3 s. Artificial vegetation is a model of Posidonia oceanica seagrass species represented by slightly flexible polypropylene shoots with 8 artificial leaves of 0.28 and 0.16 m height. Different hydrodynamics conditions (Hs, Tp, water depth hw) and geometrical parameters (submergence ratio α, shoot density N) have been tested to see their influence on wave attenuation. For a high submergence ratio (typically 0.7), the wave attenuation can reach 67% of the incident wave height whereas for a low submergence ratio (< 0.2) the wave attenuation is negligible. From each experiment, a bulk drag coefficient has been extracted following the energy dissipation model for irregular non-breaking waves developed by Mendez and Losada (2004). This model, based on the assumption that the energy loss over the species meadow is essentially due to the drag force, takes into account both wave and vegetation parameter. Finally, we found an empirical relationship for Cd depending on 2 dimensionless parameters: the Reynolds and Keulegan-Carpenter numbers. These relationships are compared with other similar studies.


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