Generalized Drag Law Based on RASEX and FLIP Data

The research supported by Grant N00014-1-96-0014 concentrated on formulating the drag coefficient and transfer coefficient for heat in the coastal zone using primarily 10 m data collected from an offshore instrumented mast during the Riso Air Sea Experiment RASEX. This mast was located 2 km off of the Danish coast in 4 m of water. In Fetch Limited Drag Coefficients Chapter 2 existing formulations of the surface roughness length and drag coefficient are evaluated. New formulations are recommended which better include the influence of wave state and fetch. In Heat Flux in the Coastal Zone Chapter 3. the transfer coefficient for heat is found to be sensitive to the shallow depth of the internal boundary layer in offshore flow. As a result, existing parameterizations overestimate the heat flux by a factor of two. A new relationship is proposed for both the thermal roughness length and the transfer coefficient. Preliminary work has been completed on evaluation of the universal profile functions nondimensional wind shear and temperature gradient functions briefly summarized in Chapter 4. Chapter 5 presents work from several miscellaneous studies.