Comparing Estimates of Whitecap Coverage From a Spectral Wave Model With Oceanic Observations
Abstract The fractional or percentage whitecap coverage of the ocean surface (W) is often parameterized in terms of wind speed. Data sets of W typically show order of magnitude scatter at a given wind speed value due to sea state variability. Here we compare modeled values of W to measured W values...
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| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2025-02-01
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| Series: | Geophysical Research Letters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL112996 |
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| Summary: | Abstract The fractional or percentage whitecap coverage of the ocean surface (W) is often parameterized in terms of wind speed. Data sets of W typically show order of magnitude scatter at a given wind speed value due to sea state variability. Here we compare modeled values of W to measured W values from the North Atlantic Ocean. The modeled W is forced by the spectrally integrated whitecap dissipation source function in the European Center for Medium‐Range Weather Forecasts spectral wave model, ecWAM. Without tuning, best agreement is found for mature sea states, with an average modeled to measured W ratio of 0.87. This ratio approaches unity with the introduction of a dissipation rate threshold value and an explicit wave‐age dependence. The study suggests that accurate estimates of W can be routinely produced by ecWAM and opens new opportunities to model bubble‐mediated fluxes of CO2 and sea spray aerosol with ecWAM. |
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| ISSN: | 0094-8276 1944-8007 |