Feature Modeling: the Incorporation of a Front and Eddy Map into Optimum Interpolation-Based Thermal Analysis
Abstract
Ocean acoustics are crucial to modern naval operations. Acoustics constantly change due to the variability in space and in time of the ocean thermal structure. Thus, a thermal analysis system that transforms irregularly sampled data from disparate sources into an analysis of the ocean thermal structure is of increasing importance. In a data-sparse environment such as the ocean, the key to obtaining realistic but cost-effective analyses is the use of all available data sources, as well as the most powerful data assimilation techniques. Feature modeling is a powerful means of supplementing the limited in situ and remotely sensed data with our understanding of the oceanography of mesoscale ocean features. Initially, the data are used to map the location of mesoscale fronts and eddies. Schematic descriptions of the thermal structure of these features, called feature models, are subsequently used to represent them in the first-guess thermal field. In data-sparse areas, features that would otherwise be poorly resolved in the analysis are instead represented by these schematic models. Models are developed for the Gulf Stream front and eddies, as well as an algorithm for the incorporation of the models into the first-guess field. The models were evaluated within the Optimum Thermal Interpolation System (OTIS) framework. Subsurface thermal fields constructed via these feature models agree well with observed fields and are substantially more realistic than analyses produced using the current regional operational system, the Expanded Ocean Thermal Structure (EOTS) analysis. Because of the power of feature modeling, feature modeling has considerable relevance to other Navy-funded work in ocean modeling and remote sensing.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 1989
- Accession Number
- ADA213253
Entities
People
- Lancelot M. Riedlinger
- Michael R. Carnes
- Patricia A. Phoebus
- Theodore J. Bennett Jr.
Organizations
- United States Naval Research Laboratory