Experimental investigation of the wave-interaction mechanism for ambient noise

An experimental investigation of the wave-interaction mechanism for wind-generated ambient noise is presented. Predictions based on dispersion theory for frequencies above 10 Hz fall below experimental data and do not account for wind-speed dependence. The discrepancy may rest either in the linear wave-model or the mechanism. Laboratory measurements of wind waves show low spatial coherence and no evidence of dispersion at high frequencies, suggesting that the surface dynamics are more like convective turbulence than linear waves. While spectral estimates based on this model do not yet account for field data, the effects of nonlinear phenomena noted in the experiments remain to be examined