Field observations of wind stress over surf zone

The problem of momentum exchange between the atmosphere and the ocean has been an ongoing investigation during the past five decades. However, little attention has been made towards this process over the surf zone. This is perhaps due to that the primary objective of existing studies was to investigate the generation of wind waves in deep waters. Nevertheless, the transfer of momentum from the atmospheric boundary layer to the ocean surface also results in the rise of mean water level in the near-shore region during extreme events, the so-called wind setup. In the present study, therefore, field observations have been carried out to investigate the magnitude of wind stress over the surf zone. Results of this study indicate that the wind drag coefficient and the aerodynamic roughness of ocean surface are significantly larger over the surf than in deep water. Copyrigh