Abstract
WAVE breaking transfers momentum from the atmosphere (winds) to the ocean (currents)1,2 and entrains air in bubbles which are believed to generate and scatter underwater sound3–5. Wave breaking and the associated entrainment of air in bubbles are also thought to be important in heat and gas transfer across the air–sea interface6–8, but the lack of detailed measurements of air entrainment in bubbles has impeded our understanding of the effect of wave breaking on these processes. Here we present measurements of air entrainment by controlled deep-water breaking waves, which show that the bubble plumes generated by breaking waves contain volume fractions of air that are many orders of magnitude greater than expected. Bubble plumes with such large void fractions may be the source of low-frequency sound in the ocean9. We conclude that the processes of surface-wave evolution and air entrainment are dynamically coupled, and that the contribution of bubbles to air–sea gas transfer and to sound propagation may be seriously underestimated if the existence of these plumes of large bubbles is not taken into account.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Melville, W. K. & Rapp, R. J. Nature 317, 514–516 (1985).
Rapp, R. J., Melville, W. K. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A331, 735–800 (1990).
Medwin, H. & Daniel, A. C. J. acoust. Soc. Am. 88, 408–412 (1990).
Medwin, H. & Beaky, J. J. acoust. Soc. Am. 86, 1124–1130 (1989).
Thorpe, S. A., Stubbs, A. R. & Hall, A. J. Nature 296, 636–638 (1983).
Thorpe, S. A. Nature 318, 519–522 (1985).
Merlivat, L. & Memery, L. J. geophys. Res. 88, 707–724 (1983).
Watson, A. J., Upstill-Goddard, R. C. & Liss, P. S. Nature 349, 145–147 (1991).
Lu, N. Q., Prosperetti, A. & Yoon, S. W. IEEE J. Ocean Eng. 15, 275–281 (1990).
Olsen, H. O. thesis, Kjeller Research Establishment (1967).
Bernier, R. N. thesis, Calif. Inst. Tech. (1981).
Walsh, A.L. & Mulhearn, P.J. J. geophys. Res. 92, 14553–14565 (1987).
Farmer, D. M. & Vagle, S. J. acoust. Soc. Am. 86, 1897–1908 (1989).
Broecker, H. Ch., & Siems, W. in Gas Transfer at Water Surfaces (eds Brutsaert, W. & Jirka, G.H.) (Reidel, Dordrecht, 1984).
Prosperetti, A. in Sea Surface Sound (ed. Kerman, B.R.) 151–171 (Kluwer, Dordrecht, 1987).
Melville, W. K., Loewen, M. R., Felizardo, F. C., Jessup, A. T. & Buckingham, M. J. Nature 336, 54–59 (1988).
Loewen, M. R. & Melville, W. K. J. Fluid Mech. 224, 601–623 (1991).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lamarre, E., Melville, W. Air entrainment and dissipation in breaking waves. Nature 351, 469–472 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1038/351469a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/351469a0
This article is cited by
-
Wave breaking and bubble formation associate energy dissipation and wave setup
Ocean Dynamics (2019)
-
Breaking waves in deep water: measurements and modeling of energy dissipation
Ocean Dynamics (2019)
-
Improvements to the statistical theoretical model for wave breaking based on the ratio of breaking wave kinetic and potential energy
Science China Earth Sciences (2017)
-
Are breaking waves, bores, surges and jumps the same flow?
Environmental Fluid Mechanics (2017)
-
Rate of Bubble Coalescence following Quasi-Static Approach: Screening and Neutralization of the Electric Double Layer
Scientific Reports (2014)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.