Measurements of directional spectrum of wind waves using an array of wave detectors Part II. Field observation

The directional spectrum of wind waves was observed using seven wave gauges at the marine observation tower. Directional spectrum was calculated by the method described inFujinawa (1974 a) which assures the high directional resolving power. Under the nearly uniform condition of the wind the process of wave development was studied by the use of the data of the directional spectrum. The analysis revealed that, 1) the mean wave direction does not necessarily coincide with the wind direction, 2) the directional spreading is much narrower than hitherto reported, 3) the growth rate is closely proportional to the square of cosine of the angle between the wave direction and the wind direction, 4) the resonancetype wave-wave interaction plays only minor role in the process of wave development for any wave component in the earlier stage of development and for the most rapidly developing component in the main stage of development.