Oceanic three-dimensional Lagrangian Coherent Structures: A study of a mesoscale eddy in the Benguela ocean region
arXiv:1111.3792 · doi:10.1016/j.ocemod.2012.04.004
Abstract
We study three dimensional oceanic Lagrangian Coherent Structures (LCSs) in the Benguela region, as obtained from an output of the ROMS model. To do that we first compute Finite-Size Lyapunov exponent (FSLE) fields in the region volume, characterizing mesoscale stirring and mixing. Average FSLE values show a general decreasing trend with depth, but there is a local maximum at about 100 m depth. LCSs are extracted as ridges of the calculated FSLE fields. They present a "curtain-like" geometry in which the strongest attracting and repelling structures appear as quasivertical surfaces. LCSs around a particular cyclonic eddy, pinched off from the upwelling front are also calculated. The LCSs are confirmed to provide pathways and barriers to transport in and out of the eddy.
References in corpus (3)
Cited by in corpus (12)
- Frontiers of chaotic advection
- Boundaries of the Peruvian Oxygen Minimum Zone shaped by coherent mesoscale dynamics
- Chaotic Lagrangian transport and mixing in the ocean
- Modeling the dynamical sinking of biogenic particles in oceanic flow
- Characterization of coherent structures in three-dimensional flows using the finite-size Lyapunov exponent
- Lagrangian analysis of the vertical structure of eddies simulated in the Japan Basin of the Japan/East Sea
- Characterization of the structure and cross-shore transport properties of a coastal upwelling filament using three-dimensional finite-size Lyapunov exponents
- Lagrangian Flow Network approach to an open flow model
- Three dimensional chaotic advection by mixed layer baroclinic instabilities
- Hyperbolic Covariant Coherent Structures in two dimensional flows
- Finite-time Partitions for Lagrangian Structure Identification in Gulf Stream Eddy Transport
- Sensitivity and robustness of Lagrangian coherent structures in coastal water systems