| Abstract: | Wave breaking statistics, such as the whitecap coverage and average volume of broken seawater, are evaluated in terms of wave parameters by use of wave breaking model (Yuan et al., 1988) taking the fifth order Stokes's wave as the analog of the original wave field. Based on the observed fact that breaking waves play an important role in the exchange of mass, momentum and energy between the atmosphere and the ocean, the influence of wave breaking on air-sea fluxes of heat and moisture is investigated. Theoretical expressions of bubble-volume flux and sea spray spectrum at the sea surface and models for bubble-induced and spray droplet-induced heat and moisture fluxes are established. This work can be taken as the basis for further understanding the mechanism of air-sea coupling and parameterization models. |
