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Updated: Feb 16, 2026

Measurements of Waves in a Wind-wave Tank Under Steady and Time-varying Wind Forcing
Published on: February 13, 2018
Satellite Observations of Imprint of Oceanic Current on Wind Stress by Air-Sea Coupling
Lionel Renault1,2, James C McWilliams3, Sebastien Masson3,4
1Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA. lrenault@ucla.edu.
Abstract:
Mesoscale eddies are present everywhere in the ocean and partly determine the mean state of the circulation and ecosystem. The current feedback on the surface wind stress modulates the air-sea transfer of momentum by providing a sink of mesoscale eddy energy as an atmospheric source. Using nine years of satellite measurements of surface stress and geostrophic currents over the global ocean, we confirm that the current-induced surface stress curl is linearly related to the current vorticity. The resulting coupling coefficient between current and surface stress (sτ [N s m-3]) is heterogeneous and can be roughly expressed as a linear function of the mean surface wind. sτ expresses the sink of eddy energy induced by the current feedback. This has important implications for air-sea interaction and implies that oceanic mean and mesoscale circulations and their effects on surface-layer ventilation and carbon uptake are better represented in oceanic models that include this feedback.
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