Wind blowing across the sea induces waves of various heights, wavelengths, and speeds. Although the waves’ rich spectrum can be derived from linear theory, nonlinearities are significant, even when the wind is just a breeze. Measuring the wave spectrum is challenging because it entails tracking the height of the sea surface over a range of length and time scales. Fabrice Ardhuin of the French Research Institute for Exploration of the Sea in Plouzané, Brest, France, and his collaborators have met that challenge using high-speed stereoscopic video. Their experiment is set up on a fixed platform situated 500 meters off the southern tip of the Crimean Peninsula. From a vantage 11 meters above the surface, two 5-megapixel cameras monitor the same, roughly 100-square-meter patch of the Black Sea and gather data at 12 frames per second (see figure for two typical frames and the study patch outlined in blue). Correlating the...
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1 January 2016