Wave-induced drift on a rotating Earth

Abstract:

Waves transport particles in the direction of wave propagation with the Stokes drift. When the Earth’s rotation is accounted for, waves induce an additional (Eulerian-mean) current that reduces drift and is known as the anti-Stokes drift. This effect is often ignored in oceanic particle-tracking simulations, despite being important. Although different theoretical models exist, they have not been validated by experiments. We conduct laboratory experiments studying the surface drift induced by deep-water waves in a purpose-built rotating wave flume. With rotation, the Lagrangian-mean drift deflects to the right (counterclockwise rotation) and reduces in magnitude. Compared with two existing steady theoretical models, measured drift speed follows a similar trend with wave Ekman number but is larger. The difference is largely explained by unsteadiness on inertial time scales. Our results emphasise the importance of considering unsteadiness when predicting and analysing the transport of floating material by waves.