Work

Quasi-objective eddy visualization from sparse drifter data

Year: 2022

Type: article

Abstract: We employ a recently developed single-trajectory Lagrangian diagnostic tool, the trajectory rotation average ( TRA ¯ ), to visualize oceanic vortices (or eddies) from sparse drifter data. We apply the TRA ¯ to two drifter data sets that cover various oceanographic scales: the Grand Lagrangian Deployment and the Global Drifter Program. Based on the TRA ¯, we develop a general algorithm that extracts approximate eddy boundaries. We find that the TRA ¯ outperforms other available single-trajectory-based eddy detection methodologies on sparse drifter data and identifies eddies on scales that are unresolved by satellite-altimetry.

Source: Chaos An Interdisciplinary Journal of Nonlinear Science

DOI: 10.1063/5.0099859

Authors: Alex P. Encinas-Bartos, Nikolas O. Aksamit, George Haller

Institutions: ETH Zurich, Institute of Mechanical Systems

Language: English

Topic: Oceanographic and Atmospheric Processes

Subfield: Oceanography

Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Funders: National Science Foundation, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft

Award: G6193697810