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3 - Favorite trajectories
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- By Amy Bower, Department of Physical Oceanography, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, USA, Heather Furey, Department of Physical Oceanography, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, USA, Senya Grodsky, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA, Jim Carton, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA, Luca R. Centurioni, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California, USA, Pearn P. Niiler, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California, USA, Yoo Yin Kim, Scripps Institution of Oceanography La Jolla California USA, Dong-Kyu Lee, Busan National University, Busan, South Korea, Vitalii A. Sheremet, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, Rhode Island, USA, Newell Garfield, San Francisco State University, Tiburon, California, USA, Curtis A. Collins, Department of Oceanography, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California, USA, Thomas A. Rago, Department of Oceanography, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California, USA, Vassiliki Kourafalou, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, USA, Elizabeth Williams, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, USA, Thomas Lee, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, USA, Matthias Lankhorst, Leibniz-Institut für Meereswissenschaften (IFM-GEOMAR), Kiel, Germany, Walter Zenk, Leibniz-Institut für Meereswissenschaften (IFM-GEOMAR), Kiel, Germany, Arthur J. Mariano, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, USA, Edward H. Ryan, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, USA, Pierre-Marie Poulain, Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale (OGS), Trieste, Italy, Hedinn Valdimarsson, Marine Research Institute, Reykjavik, Iceland, Svend-Aage Malmberg, Marine Research Institute, Reykjavik, Iceland
- Edited by Annalisa Griffa, University of Miami, A. D. Kirwan, Jr., University of Delaware, Arthur J. Mariano, University of Miami, Tamay Özgökmen, University of Miami, H. Thomas Rossby, University of Rhode Island
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- Book:
- Lagrangian Analysis and Prediction of Coastal and Ocean Dynamics
- Published online:
- 07 September 2009
- Print publication:
- 10 May 2007, pp 68-88
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- Chapter
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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.