The dependence of sea surface slope on atmospheric stability and swell conditions

Abstract

A tower‐mounted optical device is used to measure the two orthogonal components of the sea surface slope. The results indicate that an unstable stratification at the air‐sea interface tends to enhance the surface roughness. The presence of a long ocean swell system steers the primary direction of shortwave propagation away from wind direction, and may increase or reduce the mean square slope of the sea surface.