Whitecap Coverage Wind Fraction
Evaluate a supplied wind-power whitecap coverage calibration, rejecting fractions above one rather than clipping outside the model range; no sea-state or salinity-independent universal calibration.
Description
Whitecaps cover a fraction of sea surface.
Whitecaps cover a fraction of sea surface. A wind-power calibration represents their expected coverage within a limited sea-state regime.
Evaluate a supplied wind-power whitecap coverage calibration, rejecting fractions above one rather than clipping outside the model range; no sea-state or salinity-independent universal calibration.
When to use Whitecap Coverage Wind Fraction
Use this tool to evaluate a supplied wind-power whitecap coverage calibration, rejecting fractions above one rather than clipping outside the model range; no sea-state or salinity-independent universal calibration.
Gather the water, wave, current or profile observations and any supplied calibration constants. Confirm units and the stated coordinate and pressure conventions.
How to use Whitecap Coverage Wind Fraction and understand its results
- Gather the water, wave, current or profile observations and any supplied calibration constants. Confirm units and the stated coordinate and pressure conventions.
- Enter windSpeedsMPerSecond, coveragePowerCoefficient, coverageExponent using the field table and calculation rules, then run the tool.
- Read modelWhitecapFractions. The explanation below defines the units, signs, ordering and any flags or placeholder values.
- If the tool reports an input issue, correct the values and run it again. Apply the stated assumptions when interpreting a successfully returned result.
| Input field | Meaning | Value type; see rules below | Requirement |
|---|---|---|---|
| windSpeedsMPerSecond | Wind speeds m per second | list of number | Required |
| coveragePowerCoefficient | Coverage power coefficient | number | Required |
| coverageExponent | Coverage exponent | number | Required |
Use nonnegative winds and coefficient and positive exponent. Require every resulting fraction in [0,1]; reject values above one rather than clipping.1
fraction = coefficient × wind speed^exponent Units, indexing, boundary conditions and exceptional cases are defined in the calculation rules above.
| Output field | Meaning | Value type |
|---|---|---|
| modelWhitecapFractions | Model whitecap fractions | list of number |
{
"input": {
"windSpeedsMPerSecond": [
0,
10,
20
],
"coveragePowerCoefficient": 0.00001,
"coverageExponent": 3
},
"output": {
"modelWhitecapFractions": [
0,
0.01,
0.08
]
}
}Limitations and assumptions
Calibration is supplied and is not independent of sea state or salinity.
Numbers and computed results must be finite; overflow produces an error. Numeric lists are limited to 100,000 entries; the rules above may require smaller limits. Missing required fields, extra fields, wrong value types and violations of the calculation rules are input errors.
Alternative or Complementary methods
Use Wave Age Young Mature Classifier: Screen c_phase/u_star wave age using supplied wind and air-side drag, with caller phase classes; this convention is not c/U10 and does not identify fetch-limited growth by itself. For a complementary task, use Pierson Moskowitz Significant Height: Integrate a caller-parameter Pierson–Moskowitz omega^-5 spectrum analytically over full and finite frequency bands; reference wind-height convention is caller calibrated, not a measured buoy-spectrum alias.
References
-
Whitecap Coverage Wind Fraction — tool.io
Similar or alternative tools
- Wave Age Young Mature Classifier
Screen c_phase/u_star wave age using supplied wind and air-side drag, with caller phase classes; this convention is not c/U10 and does not identify fetch-limited growth by itself.
- Pierson Moskowitz Significant Height
Integrate a caller-parameter Pierson–Moskowitz omega^-5 spectrum analytically over full and finite frequency bands; reference wind-height convention is caller calibrated, not a measured buoy-spectrum alias.