Abstract
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH,
VOL. 112,
C05043,
12 PP., 2007
doi:10.1029/2006JC003952
Tracking coherent structures in a regional ocean model with wavelet analysis: Application to Cape Basin eddies
Laboratoire de Physique des Océans, UMR 6523 CNRS/IFREMER/UBO, Brest, France
Laboratoire de Physique des Océans, UMR 6523 CNRS/IFREMER/UBO, Brest, France
Laboratoire de Physique des Océans, UMR 6523 CNRS/IFREMER/UBO, Brest, France
Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique IPSL, École Normale Supérieure/CNRS, Paris, France
This study is mainly aimed at proposing objective tools for the identification and tracking of three-dimensional eddy structures.
It is conducted with a high-resolution numerical model of the ocean region around South Africa, and emphasis is put on Cape
Basin anticyclones and cyclones thought to be actively implicated in the Indian-Atlantic interocean exchange. We settle on
wavelet analysis for the decomposition and processing of successive maps of relative vorticity for a simulation run with
° resolution. The identification of three-dimensional coherent structures comes with the calculation of eddy trajectories
and the time evolution of eddy properties. Instantaneous mass transport and momentum of eddies are calculated from the knowledge
of instantaneous drift velocities, volumes, and diameters. The success of the regional model and of the analysis technique
is assessed through comparisons with equivalent observations.
Received 13 October 2006; accepted 29 January 2007; published 23 May 2007.
Citation: (2007), Tracking coherent structures in a regional ocean model with wavelet analysis: Application to Cape Basin eddies, J. Geophys. Res., 112, C05043, doi:10.1029/2006JC003952.
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