Dynamics of Characteristics of Wind-Driven Surface Waves in the Coastal Zone of Lake Baikal

Abstract

Experimental parameters of wind-driven waves obtained with a measuring pole near the coastal line of Lake Baikal using video recorders placed on a slightly submerged mast are analyzed in the present work. The measurements were carried out during the fall period. The short-period dynamics of the characteristics of surface wind-driven waves arising on the shallow water surface is analyzed. Dependences are established of the wave heights on the wind speed and direction in an open region of Lake Baikal in the daytime; their maxima are recorded in the second half of the day at the western wind direction. The temporal variations of the wave periods and heights are shown, and the nonlinear gravitational wave modes are detected on the shallow water surface. As a result of these processes, the short-period wave heights reach their maximum values. Radar measurements of the wind-driven wave characteristics have shown a dependence of the back-reflected signal intensities on the variations in the wind-driven wave heights. Small-scale inhomogeneities observed on the water surface in the form of ripples, responsible for backscattering of wind-driven wave crests, are well recognized with a nanosecond radar.