Free surfaces in turbulence: A unified framework from water surfaces to elastic solids

What do the ocean surface and a swaying flag have in common? Both are deformable surfaces exhibiting chaotic motion when exposed to turbulent flows. Whether such motion is primarily driven by flow turbulence or by nonlinear dynamics intrinsic to the surface remains debated. Surface waves can interact nonlinearly and transfer energy across scales through the cascade of wave turbulence, a behaviour observed at interfaces between otherwise quiescent fluids and in controlled laboratory experiments. They can as well induce turbulent motions in the neighbouring fluids (wave-induced-turbulence), provided the local Reynolds number is large enough. Realistic environments, however, are more complex and typically involve the simultaneous presence of wave turbulence and wave-induced turbulence with turbulence-induced waves, the dynamic relevance of which remains unclear. Here we develop a theoretical framework describing the response of a deformable surface to pressure fluctuations generated by a turbulent flow, and validate it using numerical simulations of the air–water interface in quasi-realistic conditions, complemented by simulations of a deformable rubber layer. Our linear theory, which excludes nonlinear wave–wave interactions, predicts distinct dynamical regimes depending on whether intrinsic surface dynamics emerges or whether the interface is enslaved by flow turbulence. Remarkably, although our fully resolved and nonlinear simulations do not inhibit the onset of wave turbulence, interface spectra measured in the configurations studied here are controlled at leading order by turbulent pressure forcing and linear surface response, in strong agreement with our theoretical assumptions. Our predictions appear compatible with aerial surveys of the ocean surface, highlighting the need for further, joint measurements of the pressure, elevation and velocity at the surface to distinguish among wave turbulence and turbulence-induced-waves.