While various volumes havepreviously been de- bable, answer to this question lies in the obser- vation that while whitecaps are some of the voted to such topics as droplets and bubbles, it is our conceit that this is the first volume dedi- most apparent features associated with high sea cated to the description of the phenomenon states, they have also pro\'ed to be someofthe of oceanic whitecapping, and to a considera- most difficult objects to measure and describe tion of the role these whitecapsplay in satellite quantitatively, and while scientists as a group marine remote sensing, in sea-salt aerosol gene- may like to tackle difficult problems, we ration, and in a broad range ofother sea surface should not be accused ofundue modesty when processes. This observation, reOecting in part we observe that as a group we also have a finite the relatively modest attention paid until re- tolerance for frustration and ahuman,perhaps cently by the scientific community to white- aesthetic, prejudice in favour ofnatural pheno- caps, is noteworthy when one considers that mena that are amcnable to detailed description. collectively whitecaps are to thegeneral public It is appropriate to note that Professor Wood- one of the most striking features of the sea- cock, to whom this volume is dedicated, ap- scape.

Scientists investigating the interaction between the ocean and the atmosphere now believe that the drag coefficient, and the coefficients of heat transfer and moisture transfer at the sea surface, all increase with an intensification of the wind, reaching high values during a storm. This belief is based on the results of gradient and eddy correlation measurements in the air layer over the water, as weIl as on data concerning the effect of storms on the structure of the upper layer of the ocean and on the planetary atmospheric boundary layer. However, until recently it was impossible to explain just how the above coefficients depend on the wind velocity and to extrapolate this dependence into the region of hurricane velocities. Only by studying nonturbulent mechanisms of transfer, which play an important role dose to the surface of a stormy sea, and mechanisms of spray mediated transfer in particular, was it possible to proceed to a solution of this problem. This book presents the results of laboratory and field studies of the spray field in the air layer above the surface of a stormy sea. Since there is a dose correlation between the generation of spray and the breaking of wind waves, considerable attention is given to the analysis of data on the sea state during a storm. Su'ch data are of interest when solving a number of diverse theoretical and applied problems."

Scientists investigating the interaction between the ocean and the atmosphere now believe that the drag coefficient, and the coefficients of heat transfer and moisture transfer at the sea surface, all increase with an intensification of the wind, reaching high values during a storm. This belief is based on the results of gradient and eddy correlation measurements in the air layer over the water, as weIl as on data concerning the effect of storms on the structure of the upper layer of the ocean and on the planetary atmospheric boundary layer. However, until recently it was impossible to explain just how the above coefficients depend on the wind velocity and to extrapolate this dependence into the region of hurricane velocities. Only by studying nonturbulent mechanisms of transfer, which play an important role dose to the surface of a stormy sea, and mechanisms of spray mediated transfer in particular, was it possible to proceed to a solution of this problem. This book presents the results of laboratory and field studies of the spray field in the air layer above the surface of a stormy sea. Since there is a dose correlation between the generation of spray and the breaking of wind waves, considerable attention is given to the analysis of data on the sea state during a storm. Su'ch data are of interest when solving a number of diverse theoretical and applied problems."

While various volumes havepreviously been de- bable, answer to this question lies in the obser- vation that while whitecaps are some of the voted to such topics as droplets and bubbles, it is our conceit that this is the first volume dedi- most apparent features associated with high sea cated to the description of the phenomenon states, they have also pro\'ed to be someofthe of oceanic whitecapping, and to a considera- most difficult objects to measure and describe tion of the role these whitecapsplay in satellite quantitatively, and while scientists as a group marine remote sensing, in sea-salt aerosol gene- may like to tackle difficult problems, we ration, and in a broad range ofother sea surface should not be accused ofundue modesty when processes. This observation, reOecting in part we observe that as a group we also have a finite the relatively modest attention paid until re- tolerance for frustration and ahuman,perhaps cently by the scientific community to white- aesthetic, prejudice in favour ofnatural pheno- caps, is noteworthy when one considers that mena that are amcnable to detailed description. collectively whitecaps are to thegeneral public It is appropriate to note that Professor Wood- one of the most striking features of the sea- cock, to whom this volume is dedicated, ap- scape.