Drifter Motion in the Gulf of Mexico Constrained by Altimetric Lagrangian Coherent Structures

Abstract

Application of recent geometric tools for Lagrangian coherent structures (LCS) shows that material attraction in geostrophic velocities derived from altimetry data imposed an important constraint to the motion of drifters from the Grand Lagrangian Deployment (GLAD) in the Gulf of Mexico. This material attraction is largely transparent to traditional Eulerian analysis. Attracting LCS acted as approximate centerpieces for mesoscale patterns formed by the drifters. Persistently attracting LCS cores emerged 1 week before the development of a filament resembling the tiger tail of the Deepwater Horizon oil slick, thereby anticipating its formation. Our results suggest that the mesoscale circulation plays a significant role in shaping near-surface transport in the Gulf of Mexico.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 09, 2013
Accession Number
ADA609494

Entities

People

  • A. D . Kirwan Jr.
  • Brian K. Haus
  • E. F. Coelho
  • F. J. Beron-vera
  • G. Haller
  • Gregg Jacobs
  • H. S. Huntley
  • J. Trinanes
  • Maria J. Olascoaga
  • Mohamed Iskandarani

Organizations

  • United States Naval Research Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Altimetry
  • Artificial Satellites
  • Coastal Engineering
  • Data Sets
  • Deployment
  • Environmental Pollution
  • Filaments
  • Flow
  • Fluid Flow
  • Global Positioning Systems
  • High Resolution
  • Materials
  • Measurement
  • Sea Surface Temperature
  • Stratified Fluids
  • Surface Temperature
  • Surface Transportation

Readers

  • Coastal Oceanography
  • Mathematical Modeling and Probability Theory.
  • Ocean-Atmosphere Mesoscale Modeling, Data Assimilation, and Flux Boundary Layers