The Effect of Wind Waves on Langmuir Circulations

Two types of experiments are carried out to reveal the effect of wind waves on the Langmuir circulations, which are the secondary circulations induced in wind-driven currents. One is the case where the wind waves are fully developed and the other is the case where the generation of wind waves is suppressed by adding surfactant to the working fluid. In both cases, the formation of Langmuir circulations is confirmed. It suggests that the Langmuir circulations can be formed without the strong interaction between wind waves and currents. However, the generation of wind waves tends to make the Langmuir circulations very strong and stable.