ABSTRACT 



A section of sea surface that had been subjected to a constant, 

 offshore wind was profiled using an airborne radar wave pro- 

 filer. The profiles extended from the coast out to a distance 

 of 190 nautical miles. From this data estimates of the spec- 

 trum of encounter of the sea surface were obtained for a 

 number of different fetch lengths. By solving a singular Fred- 

 holm integral equation of the first kind, it was possible to re- 

 trieve the true wave spectrum as a function of fetch length. 

 Spectral growth curves were then obtained and analyzed in 

 light of recent theories of wave generation. The data lend 

 support to the previous conclusions of Snyder and Cox (1966) 

 regardingtwo recent theories of wave generation. Specifically, 

 the data are consistent with the "resonance" theory of wave 

 growth (Phillips, 1957), but at the same time suggests that 

 wave growth through an instability mechanism (IVIiles, 1957) 

 Is yet to be understood. It is also demonstrated that energy 

 Is transmitted simultaneously to the entire frequency range 

 of the wave spectrum. One of the most significant results of 



7 past or "over- 

 After "over- 

 )n equilibrium 



