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Sea surface wind stress and drag coefficients: The hexos results

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Abstract

Turbulent fluxes have been measured in the atmospheric surface layer from a boom extending upwind from the Dutch offshore research platform Meetpost Noordwijk (MPN) during HEXMAX (Humidity Exchange over the Sea Main Experiment) in October–November, 1986. We started out to study eddy flux of water vapour, but discrepancies among simultaneous measurements made with three different anemometers led us to develop methods to correct eddy correlation measurements of wind stress for flow distortion by nearby objects. We then found excellent agreement among the corrected wind stress data sets from the three anemometers on the MPN boom and with eddy correlation measurements from a mast on a tripod. Inertial-dissipation techniques gave reliable estimates of wind stress from turbulence spectra, both at MPN and at a nearby ship. The data cover a range of wave ages and the results yield new insights into the variation of sea surface wind stress with sea state; two alternative formulas are given for the nondimensional surface roughness as a function of wave age.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, P.O. Box 1006, B2Y 4A2, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada

    Stuart D. Smith & Robert J. Anderson

  2. Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, 3730 AE, deBilt, the Netherlands

    Wiebe A. Oost, C. Kraan & Nico Maat

  3. Dept. of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Washington, 98195, Seattle, WA, USA

    Janice De Cosmo & Kristina B. Katsaros

  4. Department of Meteorology, Naval Postgraduate School, 93943-5000, Monterey, CA, USA

    Kenneth L. Davidson

  5. Institut für Meereskunde, Universität Kiel, D2300, Kiel, Germany

    Karl Bumke & Lutz Hasse

  6. UK Meteorological Office, London Road, RG12 2SZ, Bracknett, Berkshire, UK

    Helen M. Chadwick

Authors
  1. Stuart D. Smith
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  2. Robert J. Anderson
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  3. Wiebe A. Oost
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  4. C. Kraan
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  5. Nico Maat
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  6. Janice De Cosmo
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  7. Kristina B. Katsaros
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  8. Kenneth L. Davidson
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  9. Karl Bumke
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  10. Lutz Hasse
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  11. Helen M. Chadwick
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Smith, S.D., Anderson, R.J., Oost, W.A. et al. Sea surface wind stress and drag coefficients: The hexos results. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 60, 109–142 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00122064

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