A Processor for the Study of Ocean Fine-Scale Patches.
Abstract
When a vertical array of temperature sensors is towed through the upper thermocline, patches of high temperature variance of considerable horizontal length can be observed. The Ocean Dynamics Branch at NRL has developed a towed thermistor array system which is extremely useful in obtaining finely detailed data on the horizontal/vertical structure of small-scale temperature fluctuations in the upper ocean. This report documents an algorithm for using towed thermistor array data to study these patches. Briefly, the algorithm detrends the temperature data and computes the FFT of the windowed data for 16 second (=40 m) data blocks. An estimate of the temperature variance is thus obtained within a user-selected band, typically 1 to 3 m. A normalization is generally performed to remove the effects of a changing vertical temperature gradient. Shades of gray plots are then used to display the patch structure. The algorithm is applied to data from a 1981 Atlantic Ocean experiment near the Sargasso Sea. Many examples of 'patch processor' output are shown, along with other results. It will be seen that the patch processor algorithm provides an effective medium for the portrayal of high variance of ocean fine structure. Keywords: Patch detectors; Temperature fields; Temperature variance fields.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 17, 1985
- Accession Number
- ADA157019
Entities
People
- G. O. Marmorino
- J. P. Dugan
- L. J. Rosenblum
Organizations
- United States Naval Research Laboratory