The “Bag Breakup” Spume Droplet Generation Mechanism at High Winds. Part II: Contribution to Momentum and Enthalpy Transfer

Abstract

AbstractIn Part I of this study, we used high-speed video to identify “bag breakup” fragmentation as the dominant mechanism by which spume droplets are generated at gale-force and hurricane wind speeds. We also constructed a spray generation function (SGF) for the bag-breakup mechanism. The distinctive feature of this new SGF is the presence of giant (~1000 μm) droplets, which may significantly intensify the exchange between the atmosphere and the ocean. In this paper, Part II, we estimate the contribution of the bag-breakup mechanism to the momentum and enthalpy fluxes, which are known to strongly affect the development and maintenance of hurricanes. We consider three contributions to the spray-mediated aerodynamic drag: 1) “bags” as obstacles before fragmentation, 2) acceleration of droplets by the wind in the course of their production, and 3) stable stratification of the marine atmospheric boundary layer due to levitating droplets. Taking into account all of these contributions indicates a peaking dependence of the aerodynamic drag coefficient on the wind speed, which confirms the results of field and laboratory measurements. The contribution of the spray-mediated flux to the ocean-to-atmosphere moist enthalpy is also estimated using the concept of “reentrant spray,” and the equation for the enthalpy flux from a single droplet to the atmosphere is derived from microphysical equations. Our estimates show that a noticeable increase in the enthalpy exchange coefficient at winds exceeding 30–35 m s−1 is due to the enhancement of the exchange processes caused by the presence of giant droplets originating from bag-breakup fragmentation.