A new formulation of the spectral dissipation source term Sds for wind-wave modeling applications is investigated. This new form of Sds is based on a threshold behavior of deep-water wave-breaking onset associated with nonlinear wave-group modulation. It is expressed in terms of the azimuth-integrated spectral saturation, resulting in a nonlinear dependence of dissipation rates on the local wave spectrum. Validation of the saturation-based Sds is made against wave field parameters derived from observations of fetch-limited wind-wave evolution. Simulations of fetch-limited growth are made with a numerical model featuring an exact nonlinear form of the wave–wave-interactions source term Snl. For reference, the performance of this saturation-based Sds is compared with the performance of the wave-dissipation source-term parameterization prescribed for the Wave Modeling Project (WAM) wind-wave model. Calculations of integral spectral parameters using the saturation-based model for Sds agree closely wi... Abstract A new formulation of the spectral dissipation source term Sds for wind-wave modeling applications is investigated. This new form of Sds is based on a threshold behavior of deep-water wave-breaking onset associated with nonlinear wave-group modulation. It is expressed in terms of the azimuth-integrated spectral saturation, resulting in a nonlinear dependence of dissipation rates on the local wave spectrum. Validation of the saturation-based Sds is made against wave field parameters derived from observations of fetch-limited wind-wave evolution. Simulations of fetch-limited growth are made with a numerical model featuring an exact nonlinear form of the wave–wave-interactions source term Snl. For reference, the performance of this saturation-based Sds is compared with the performance of the wave-dissipation source-term parameterization prescribed for the Wave Modeling Project (WAM) wind-wave model. Calculations of integral spectral parameters using the saturation-based model for Sds agree closely wi...

The time-honored topic of fully developed wind seas pioneered by Pierson and Moskowitz is revisited to review the asymptotic evolution limits of integral spectral parameters used by the modeling community in the validation of wind-wave models. Discrepancies are investigated between benchmark asymptotic limits obtained by scaling integral spectral parameters using alternative wind speeds. Using state-of-the-art wind and wave modeling technology, uncertainties in the Pierson–Moskowitz limits due to inhomogeneities in the wind fields and contamination of the original data by crossing seas and swells are also investigated. The resulting reanalyzed database is used to investigate the optimal scaling wind parameter and to refine the levels of the full-development asymptotes of nondimensional integral wave spectral parameters used by the wind-wave modeling community. The results are also discussed in relation to recent advances in quantifying wave-breaking probability of wind seas. The results show that... Abstract The time-honored topic of fully developed wind seas pioneered by Pierson and Moskowitz is revisited to review the asymptotic evolution limits of integral spectral parameters used by the modeling community in the validation of wind-wave models. Discrepancies are investigated between benchmark asymptotic limits obtained by scaling integral spectral parameters using alternative wind speeds. Using state-of-the-art wind and wave modeling technology, uncertainties in the Pierson–Moskowitz limits due to inhomogeneities in the wind fields and contamination of the original data by crossing seas and swells are also investigated. The resulting reanalyzed database is used to investigate the optimal scaling wind parameter and to refine the levels of the full-development asymptotes of nondimensional integral wave spectral parameters used by the wind-wave modeling community. The results are also discussed in relation to recent advances in quantifying wave-breaking probability of wind seas. The results show that...