Laboratory observations of surface oil film effects on hydrodynamic properties and the growth of short wind-generated waves

To study surface oil film effects on hydrodynamic properties and growth of short wind-generated waves, two experiments were conducted in the Air-Sea Interaction Saltwater Tank (ASIST) and the SUSTAIN (SUrge-STructure-Atmosphere INteraction) tank separately at the University of Miami’s SUSTAIN laboratory. In the ASIST tank, the short wind-generated waves, near-surface currents, and momentum fluxes were observed with and without oil films in pure wind-sea condition over a wide range of wind speeds up to Category I hurricane equivalent. In the SUSTAIN tank, the growth of short wind-generated waves associated with the existence of background gravity waves was investigated with and without oil films at low, moderate, and high wind speed. This dataset contains surface elevation, wind speed profiles, and pressure measurements, along with wave slopes, along- and cross-tank wave energy spectra, and omnidirectional wave energy spectra. It also includes a spreadsheet detailing the file contents and a few illustrative graphics.