Wind instability of a foam layer sandwiched between the atmosphere and the ocean

The Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) instability of short gravity waves is examined in order to explain the recent findings of the decrease in momentum transfer from hurricane winds to sea waves. A foam
layer between the atmosphere and the ocean is suggested to provide significant stabilization of the sea-water surface by the wavelength shift of the instability towards smaller scales. It is conjectured that such stabilization leads to the observed drag reduction. The problem of a three-fluid system with large differences in densities provides an extension to the fundamental KH problem in fluid mechanics.