An experimental investigation of the role of atmospheric stability in wind wave growth

Differences in temperature between air and water influence the stability of the atmospheric boundary layer. The altered structure of the boundary can affect the rate of growth of surface gravity waves. An extensive data set, collected under a wide range of well-documented atmospheric stability conditions, is investigated to quantify this effect. It is found that in unstable conditions, wind wave growth is enhanced, whereas in stable conditions, is is reduced. A correction, which can be applied to common fetch-limited growth curves, is developed which can account for atmospheric stability. In extreme cases, the error (in terms of energy) introduced by the neglect of stability effects can be as much as 50%.