VARIATION IN WIND VELOCITY OVER WATER

Starting from the equations of motion and continuity, a theoretical model is deduced in this paper for the variation in wind velocity over water caused by abrupt changes in surface roughness and temperature when air flows from land to water, based on the consideration that the turbulent exchange coefficient varies with height and distance from the upwind edge. According to the computation of this model, the variation in wind velocity over water, as the drift of air is from land to water, occurs mainly in the first few kilometers from the upwind edge. The wind velocity over water increases to a maximum when the air over land is stable, it tends to moderate when neutral condition is reached, and least variation is shown in unstable condition. And when the air over land is unstable the wind velocity is less over water than over land in strong winds, but somewhat greater in light winds.