New parameterizations for the spectral dissipation of wind-generated waves are proposed. The rates of dissipation have no predetermined spectral shapes and are functions of the wave spectrum, in a way consistent with observation of wave breaking and swell dissipation properties. Namely, swell dissipation is nonlinear and proportional to the swell steepness, and wave breaking only affects spectral components such that the non-dimensional spectrum exceeds the threshold at which waves are observed to start breaking. An additional source of short wave dissipation due to long wave breaking is introduced, together with a reduction of wind-wave generation term for short waves, otherwise taken from Janssen (J. Phys. Oceanogr. 1991). These parameterizations are combined and calibrated with the Discrete Interaction Approximation of Hasselmann et al. (J. Phys. Oceangr. 1985) for the nonlinear interactions. Parameters are adjusted to reproduce observed shapes of directional wave spectra, and the variability of spectral moments with wind speed and wave height. The wave energy balance is verified in a wide range of conditions and scales, from the global ocean to coastal settings. Wave height, peak and mean periods, and spectral data are validated using in situ and remote sensing data. Some systematic defects are still present, but the parameterizations probably yield the most accurate overall estimate of wave parameters to date. Perspectives for further improvement are also given.

[1] Noise with periods 3 to 10 s, ubiquitous in seismic records, is expected to be mostly generated by pairs of ocean wave trains of opposing propagation directions with half the seismic frequency. Here we present the first comprehensive numerical model of microseismic generation by random ocean waves, including ocean wave reflections. Synthetic and observed seismic spectra are well correlated (r > 0.85). On the basis of the model results, noise generation events can be clustered in three broad classes: wind waves with a broad directional spectrum (class I), sea states with a significant contribution of coastal reflections (class II), and the interaction of two independent wave systems (class III). At seismic stations close to western coasts, noise generated by class II sources generally dominates, but it is intermittently outshined by the intense class III sources, limiting the reliability of seismic data as a proxy for storm climates. The modeled seismic noise critically depends on the damping of seismic waves. At some mid-ocean island stations, low seismic damping is necessary to reproduce the observed high level and smoothness of noise time series that result from a spatial integration of sources over thousands of kilometers. In contrast, some coastal stations are only sensitive to noise within a few hundreds of kilometers. This revelation of noise source patterns worldwide provides a wealth of information for seismic studies, wave climate applications, and new constraints on the possible directional distribution of wave energy.

[1] Global observations of ocean swell, from satellite Synthetic Aperture Radar data, are used to estimate the dissipation of swell energy for a number of storms. Swells can be very persistent with energy e-folding scales exceeding 20,000 km. For increasing swell steepness this scale shrinks systematically, down to 2800 km for the steepest observed swells, revealing a significant loss of swell energy. This value corresponds to a normalized energy decay in time b = 4.2 Â 10 À6 s À1 . Many processes may be responsible for this dissipation. The increase of dissipation rate in dissipation with swell steepness is interpreted as a laminar to turbulent transition of the boundary layer, with a threshold Reynolds number of the order of 100,000. These observations of swell evolution open the way for more accurate wave forecasting models, and provide a constraint on swell-induced air-sea fluxes of momentum and energy.

The surface current response to winds is analyzed in a two-year time series of a 12 MHz (HF) Wellen Radar (WERA) off the West coast of France. Consistent with previous observations, the measured currents, after filtering tides, are of the order of 1.0 to 1.8% of the wind speed, in a direction 10 to 40 degrees to the right of the wind, with systematic trends as a function of wind speed. This Lagrangian current can be decomposed as the vector sum of a quasi-Eulerian current U E , representative of the top 1 m of the water column, and part of the wave-induced Stokes drift U ss at the sea surface. Here U ss is estimated with an accurate numerical wave model, thanks to a novel parameterization of wave dissipation processes. Using both observed and modelled wave spectra, Uss is found to be very well approximated by a simple function of the wind speed and significant wave height, generally increasing quadratically with the wind speed. Focusing on a site located 100 km from the mainland, the wave induced contribution of Uss to the radar measurement has an estimated magnitude of 0.6 to 1.3% of the wind speed, in the wind direction, a fraction that increases with wind speed. The difference U E of Lagrangian and Stokes contributions is found to be of the order of 0.4 to 0.8% of the wind speed, and 45 to 70 degrees to the right of the wind. This relatively weak quasi-Eulerian current with a large deflection angle is interpreted as evidence of strong near-surface mixing, likely related to breaking waves and/or Langmuir circulations. Summer stratification tends to increase the UE response by up to a factor 2, and further increases the deflection angle of U E by 5 to 10 degrees. At locations closer to coast, Uss is smaller, and UE is larger with a smaller deflection angle. These results would be transposable to the world ocean if the relative part of geostrophic currents in U E were weak, which is expected. This decomposition into Stokes drift and quasi-Eulerian current is most important for the estimation of energy fluxes to the Ekman layer.

[1] The median Doppler shift of radar echoes is analyzed in measurements by ENVISAT's Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR) over the ocean. This Doppler centroid differs from a predicted signal based on the predicted motion of the satellite and Earth. This anomaly, converted to a surface Doppler velocity U D , appears to be of geophysical origin. Two wide-swath images over the Gulf Stream around Cape Hatteras suggest that U D contains high-resolution information on surface currents, while on a global scale, U D is found to vary with the wind speed in the range direction. A simple quantitative forward model is proposed, based on a practical two-scale decomposition of the surface geometry and kinematics. The model represents the effect of the wind through the wave spectrum, and gives U D % gU 10k + U ck , with U 10k and U ck as the 10 m wind speed and quasi-Eulerian current in the line of sight of the radar projected on the sea surface, respectively, and g as a coefficient function of the wind speed, wave development, and radar geometry. It is found that for an incidence angle of 23°, g % 0.3 for moderate winds and fully developed seas. This model is validated with a global data set of ASAR Wave Mode observations, with colocated model winds, acquired over the global ocean during the years 2003 and 2004. The Doppler signal therefore provides the signed parameter U D that can be used to reduce the wind direction ambiguity in the inversion of high-resolution wind fields from SAR imagery. A qualitative validation of current effects is shown for the English Channel where tidal currents dominate. Thus it should be possible to combine this previously ignored geophysical Doppler signal with traditional information on sea surface roughness, in order to provide very high resolution wind and current fields.Citation: Chapron, B., F. Collard, and F. , Direct measurements of ocean surface velocity from space: Interpretation and validation,

a b s t r a c tA multi-scale global hindcast of ocean waves is presented that covers the years 1994-2012, based on recently published parameterizations for wind sea and swell dissipation [, Aouf, L., Collard, F., 2010. Semi-empirical dissipation source functions for wind-wave models: Part I. Definition, calibration and validation. J. Phys. Oceanogr. 40 (9), 1917Oceanogr. 40 (9), -1941. Results from this hindcast include traditional wave parameters, like the significant wave height and mean periods, and we particularly consider the accuracy of the results for phenomenal sea states, with significant heights above 14 m. Using unbiased winds, there is no evidence of a bias in wave heights even for this very high range. Various spectral moments were also validated, including the surface Stokes drift and mean square slopes that are relevant for wave-current interactions modelling and remote sensing, and also spectra of seismic noise sources. The estimation of these parameters is made more accurate by the new wave growth and dissipation parameterizations. Associated air-sea fluxes of momentum and energy are significantly different from what is obtained with the WAM-Cycle 4 parameterization, with a roughness that is practically a function of wind speed only. That particular output of the model does not appear very realistic and will require future adjustments of the generation and dissipation parameterizations.

International audienceMicroseismic activity, recorded everywhere on Earth, is largely due to ocean waves. Recent progress has clearly identified sources of microseisms in the most energetic band, with periods from 3 to 10 s. In contrast, the generation of longer-period microseisms has been strongly debated. Two mechanisms have been proposed to explain seismic wave generation: a primary mechanism, by which ocean waves propagating over bottom slopes generate seismic waves, and a secondary mechanism which relies on the nonlinear interaction of ocean waves. Here we show that the primary mechanism explains the average power, frequency distribution, and most of the variability in signals recorded by vertical seismometers, for seismic periods ranging from 13 to 300 s. The secondary mechanism only explains seismic motions with periods shorter than 13 s. Our results build on a quantitative numerical model that gives access to time-varying maps of seismic noise sources

Tidal currents and large‐scale oceanic currents are known to modify ocean wave properties, causing extreme sea states that are a hazard to navigation. Recent advances in the understanding and modeling capability of open ocean currents have revealed the ubiquitous presence of eddies, fronts, and filaments at scales 10–100 km. Based on realistic numerical models, we show that these structures can be the main source of variability in significant wave heights at scales less than 200 km, including important variations down to 10 km. Model results are consistent with wave height variations along satellite altimeter tracks, resolved at scales larger than 50 km. The spectrum of significant wave heights is found to be of the order of 70〈Hs〉2/(g2〈Tm0,−1〉2) times the current spectrum, where true〈Hstrue〉 is the spatially averaged significant wave height, true〈Tm0,−1true〉 is the energy‐averaged period, and g is the gravity acceleration. This variability induced by currents has been largely overlooked in spite of its relevance for extreme wave heights and remote sensing.