Figure 1. Stresses estimated from the 2007 measurements at the Martha’s Vineyard Coastal Observatory. The directly measured hour-averaged Reynolds shear stress agrees well with the drag-law estimate inferred from the measured burst-averaged velocity by means of an empirically determined drag coefficient . The standard deviation of the oscillatory bottom shear stress produced by surface waves is inferred from a wave-current interaction model and is much larger than the hour-averaged stress , which is associated with wind-driven and tidal currents. The wave-induced stress is primarily responsible for suspending particles and controlling the size of water-borne flocs. ()
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