Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Preface
- 1 Evolution of Lagrangian methods in oceanography
- 2 Measuring surface currents with Surface Velocity Program drifters: the instrument, its data, and some recent results
- 3 Favorite trajectories
- 4 Particle motion in a sea of eddies
- 5 Inertial particle dynamics on the rotating Earth
- 6 Predictability of Lagrangian motion in the upper ocean
- 7 Lagrangian data assimilation in ocean general circulation models
- 8 Dynamic consistency and Lagrangian data in oceanography: mapping, assimilation, and optimization schemes
- 9 Observing turbulence regimes and Lagrangian dispersal properties in the oceans
- 10 Lagrangian biophysical dynamics
- 11 Plankton: Lagrangian inhabitants of the sea
- 12 A Lagrangian stochastic model for the dynamics of a stage structured population. Application to a copepod population
- 13 Lagrangian analysis and prediction of coastal and ocean dynamics (LAPCOD)
- Index
- Plate section
- References
3 - Favorite trajectories
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 September 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Preface
- 1 Evolution of Lagrangian methods in oceanography
- 2 Measuring surface currents with Surface Velocity Program drifters: the instrument, its data, and some recent results
- 3 Favorite trajectories
- 4 Particle motion in a sea of eddies
- 5 Inertial particle dynamics on the rotating Earth
- 6 Predictability of Lagrangian motion in the upper ocean
- 7 Lagrangian data assimilation in ocean general circulation models
- 8 Dynamic consistency and Lagrangian data in oceanography: mapping, assimilation, and optimization schemes
- 9 Observing turbulence regimes and Lagrangian dispersal properties in the oceans
- 10 Lagrangian biophysical dynamics
- 11 Plankton: Lagrangian inhabitants of the sea
- 12 A Lagrangian stochastic model for the dynamics of a stage structured population. Application to a copepod population
- 13 Lagrangian analysis and prediction of coastal and ocean dynamics (LAPCOD)
- Index
- Plate section
- References
Summary
In this chapter, a collection of “favorite trajectories” from various authors are presented.
While Lagrangian data analysis uses an extensive array of sophisticated tools, including classical statistics, dynamical system theory, stochastic modelling, assimilation techniques, and many others, visual inspection of individual trajectories still plays an important role, providing the first and often fundamental glimpse of the underlying dynamics. Often, for Lagrangian investigators, looking at trajectories gives the first intuition, then leading to the use of sophisticated and appropriate analysis. Trajectories tell the story of the journey of drifters and floats, and these stories are often complex and fascinating.
In the following sections, a number of investigators take us in the various world oceans, including Atlantic, Pacific and regional Seas, from the Poles to the Tropics, telling us the stories of their favorite trajectories and giving us their intuition and physical insights.
Mesoscale eddies in the Red Sea outflow region
In 2001–2002, 50 RAFOS floats were released at the core depth (∼ 650 m) of Red Sea Outflow Water (RSOW) in the Gulf of Aden (northwestern Indian Ocean) as part of the Red Sea Outflow Experiment (REDSOX). The objective was to determine how warm, saline RSOW spreads from its source at the southern end of Bab al Mandeb Strait to the open Indian Ocean. Our hypothesis was that either boundary undercurrents or submesoscale coherent vortices (SCVs like Meddies, but here called “Reddies”) were the main transport mechanisms for RSOW.
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- Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2007