The Transition from Downward to Upward Air–Sea Momentum Flux in Swell-Dominated Light Wind Conditions

AbstractFifteen hours of consecutive swell data from the experiment Flux, Etat de la Mer, et Teledetection en Condition de Fetch Variable (FETCH) in the Mediterranean show a distinct upward momentum flux. The characteristics are shown to vary systematically with wind speed. A hysteresis effect is found for wave energy of the wind-sea waves when represented as a function of wind speed, displaying higher energy during decaying winds compared to increasing winds. For the FETCH measurements, the upward momentum transfer regime is found to begin for wind speeds lower than about U = 4 m s−1. For the lowest observed wind speeds U < 2.4 m s−1, the water surface appears to be close to dynamically smooth. In this range almost all the upward momentum flux is accomplished by the peak in the cospectrum between the vertical and horizontal components of the wind velocity. It is demonstrated that this contribution in turn is linearly related to the swell significant wave height Hsd in the range 0.6 < Hsd < 1.4 m. For Hsd...