Subtidal Flow Patterns in Western Florida Bay

Recent observations using moored current meters, shipboard ADCP transects, salinity mapping and drifters have been used to study the residual circulation including wind drift in western Florida Bay.Rapid, nearly synoptic surveys of salinity over a large area was an effective tracer-mapping technique, when salinity gradients were sufficiently strong, and provided qualitative information on Lagrangian water motion for the entire study area. The salinity maps indicated a general south-eastward advection, which was only subordinate to tidal mixing in a narrow zone adjacent to the Florida Keys.Drifter data collected simultaneously, allowed quantitative estimates to be added to the transport pattern suggested by salinity maps. The selectively deployed drifters yielded estimates of total drift velocities. In addition, moored current meters and shipboard current profiling were used to determine the distribution of flow across the mouth of the bay facing the Gulf of Mexico and the transport through Long Key Channel, a major connection between the bay and the Atlantic Ocean.Analysis showed that from 64 to over 92% of the drifter trajectory variances could be explained by the combination of a local wind drift, expressed in terms of a wind drift factor multiplied by the surface shear velocity, and an ambient current. For a 1 m high drifter deployed at the surface of the water column, the wind drift factor was found to be approximately 0·125m, making the drift speed roughly equal to 0·45% of wind speed. The mean drifter speeds were linearly proportional to mean transport estimates derived from the current meter observations in Long Key Channel, enhancing confidence in both data sets.The total south-eastward directed residual current varied between 100 and 5000 m day⁻¹and was weaker in summer than in winter, when southward winds associated with periodic passage of cold fronts boost the residual flow. The estimated contribution from local wind drift varied between 500 m day⁻¹in summer to 1000 m day⁻¹in winter. The remaining contribution to the observed Lagrangian residual circulation in western Florida Bay is caused by other forcing, including tidal rectification, remote wind forcing and large-scale current systems (the Gulf Stream and Florida Current systems).     

Exploration of the wind-induced drift characteristics of typical Chinese offshore fishing vessels

The drift motion of a maritime distress target is the collective result of the balance of forces that comes from wind, currents and waves. The drift properties vary from one type of object to another. The objective of this paper is to explore the leeway drift characteristics of typical Chinese offshore fishing vessels as well as evaluate the leeway drift model. First, a series of field experiments were conducted in South China Sea to provide data source. Next, nine leeway coefficients in AP98 leeway model were derived by the least square fitting based on the experimental data. Furthermore, another drifting dynamics model based on a balance of forces on the drifting vessel due to wind and currents, was also calibrated for comparison. Finally, two cases of drift trajectory and searching areas were simulated by the two different models through Lagrangian particle tracking and Monte Carlo techniques. Results indicate that the AP98 leeway model is in better accordance with the observation compared with the drifting dynamics model. Additionally, the simulation accuracy of AP98 leeway model can be improved to some extent especially when the probability of positive crosswind (POPC) is considered. Considering the large number of the typical offshore fishing vessels in South China Sea, and their high accident rate, the model coefficients for this type of vessels are expected to be implemented into more search and rescue (SAR) models by SAR organizations.     

Directed drifter launch strategies for Lagrangian data assimilation using hyperbolic trajectories

The dependence of the fidelity of a Lagrangian data assimilation scheme on the initial launch locations of the observed drifters is studied in the context of a reduced gravity, primitive equation model of mid-latitude circulations. A directed launch strategy, based on tracking the Lagrangian manifolds emanating from strongly hyperbolic regions in the flow field, is developed. In a series of twin assimilation experiments, the rate of convergence of the data assimilating scheme is shown to be consistently higher in such directed launches compared to those produced from randomly selected initial drifter positions. By directing initial drifter positions along the out-flowing branch of identifiable Lagrangian boundaries, the relative dispersion of the drifters, the overall data coverage and the sampling of high kinetic energy features in the flow are optimized. In general, the performance of the assimilation procedure is shown to depend strongly on the independence of the observed drifter trajectories and the temporal persistence of the corrections provided by the data.     

On predicting boat drift for search and rescue

A theoretical model for predicting boat drift for search and rescue missions is presented in this work. The drift model is based on the law of physics which govern the motion of a floating body in a given wind and surface current field. In terms of the empirical aerodynamics force coefficients of the boat or any other drifting object, external wind field, and current field, the drift velocity of the boat being searched for can be obtained. The uncertainty of the characteristics of the boat’s drift is evaluated by interval analysis of the uncertainties of the characteristics of the drifting boat and external forcing fields. The search area expansion and the source of uncertainty are systematically evaluated. The current statistical model-based operational definitions of leeway drift, leeway rate, leeway angle, divergence angle, leeway divergence, downwind component of leeway, and crosswind component of leeway are clarified in light of the presented theoretical model. The divergence angle and leeway divergence are evaluated through the interval analysis of the uncertainty of the parameters involved.     

Ocean current estimation using a Multi-Model Ensemble Kalman Filter during the Grand Lagrangian Deployment experiment (GLAD)

In the summer and fall of 2012, during the GLAD experiment in the Gulf of Mexico, the Consortium for Advanced Research on Transport of Hydrocarbon in the Environment (CARTHE) used several ocean models to assist the deployment of more than 300 surface drifters. The Navy Coastal Ocean Model (NCOM) at 1 km and 3 km resolutions, the US Navy operational NCOM at 3 km resolution (AMSEAS), and two versions of the Hybrid Coordinates Ocean Model (HYCOM) set at 4 km were running daily and delivering 72-h range forecasts. They all assimilated remote sensing and local profile data but they were not assimilating the drifter’s observations. This work presents a non-intrusive methodology named Multi-Model Ensemble Kalman Filter that allows assimilating the local drifter data into such a set of models, to produce improved ocean currents forecasts. The filter is to be used when several modeling systems or ensembles are available and/or observations are not entirely handled by the operational data assimilation process. It allows using generic in situ measurements over short time windows to improve the predictability of local ocean dynamics and associated high-resolution parameters of interest for which a forward model exists (e.g. oil spill plumes). Results can be used for operational applications or to derive enhanced background fields for other data assimilation systems, thus providing an expedite method to non-intrusively assimilate local observations of variables with complex operators. Results for the GLAD experiment show the method can improve water velocity predictions along the observed drifter trajectories, hence enhancing the skills of the models to predict individual trajectories.     

Argos表面漂流浮标在黑潮区的若干观测结果

利用近几年国家海洋局第二海洋研究所及国家海洋技术中心在南海和西北太平洋海域布放的部分卫星跟踪表面漂流浮标所取得的观测资料,分析了浮标流经海域的表层海流特征及浮标漂移路径上水温的变化。结果表明:2003年1月,黑潮表层水有入侵南海的趋势,夏季南海表层水经吕宋海峡流出,汇入黑潮主干;夏末冬初,黑潮主干经过东海时明显呈弯曲流动;2003年春季,日本以南海域黑潮弯曲不明显;台湾东北部海域存在一个强反气旋涡;表层海水的温度日变化和季节变化明显,在浮标漂移路径呈反气旋或气旋式转动的区域,对应出现了表层水温的高、低温区。     

Argos漂流浮标的若干观测结果

表层漂流浮标是一种利用Argos卫星系统定位与传送数据的海洋观测设备,它可以利用Lagrangian法则连续观测表层海流及表层水温。文章利用近年在南海和西太平洋投放的部分卫星跟踪表层漂流浮标所取得的观测资料,分析观测海域的表层海流特征及其漂移路径上的温度变化,得出以下结果。(1)由浮标的漂移轨迹看出,黑潮表层流路年际变异相当大。(2)2003年1月,黑潮表层水有入侵南海的趋势,似无西北太平洋表层水深入南海的迹象;夏季南海表层水由南海流出经吕宋海峡汇入黑潮主干。(3)秋季台湾东北海区存在一个强反气旋涡,空间尺度约270km。(4)黑潮主干在秋末冬初经过东海时明显呈弯曲流动,并形成许多小尺度的气旋式涡。(5)在九州西南海域,黑潮表层流并无分支北上进入对马暖流区。(6)2003年春季,黑潮在日本以南的弯曲不明显,并伴随有冷、暖涡产生,暖涡的强度和空间尺度都要比冷涡大得多。(7)由漂流浮标观测得到的的表层海水的温度分布明显呈日变化和季节变化的特征。在浮标漂移路径呈反气旋或气旋式转动的区域,表层水温对应出现高或低温区;但出现在台湾以东的低温区则与此时期的台风过境有关。     

Wind-induced drift of objects at sea: The leeway field method

A method for conducting leeway field experiments to establish the drift properties of small objects (0.1-25 m) is described. The objective is to define a standardized and unambiguous procedure for condensing the drift properties down to a set of coefficients that may be incorporated into existing stochastic trajectory forecast models for drifting objects of concern to search and rescue operations and other activities involving vessels lost at sea such as containers with hazardous material.An operational definition of the slip or wind and wave-induced motion of a drifting object relative to the ambient current is proposed. This definition taken together with a strict adherence to a 10 m wind speed allows us to refer unambiguously to the leeway of a drifting object. We recommend that all objects if possible be studied using what we term the direct method, where the object’s leeway is studied directly using an attached current meter.We establish a minimum set of parameters that should be estimated for a drifting object for it to be included in the operational forecast models used for prediction of search areas for drifting objects.We divide drifting objects into four categories, depending on their size. For the smaller objects (less than 0.5 m), an indirect method of measuring the object’s motion relative to the ambient current must be used. For larger objects, direct measurement of the motion through the near-surface water masses is strongly recommended. Larger objects are categorized according to the ability to attach current meters and wind monitoring systems to them.The leeway field method proposed here is illustrated with results from field work where three objects were studied in their distress configuration; a 1:3.3 sized model of a 40-foot Shipping container, a World War II mine and a 220 l (55-gallon) oil drum.     

Dispersion of surface drifters and model-simulated trajectories

From a data set encompassing the years 1990–2008 pairs of surface drifters with maximum initial separations of 5, 10 and 25 km have been identified. Model trajectories have been calculated using the same initial positions and times as the selected pairs of surface drifters. The model trajectories are based on the TRACMASS trajectory code and driven by the ocean general circulation model NEMO. The trajectories are calculated off-line, i.e. with the stored velocity fields from the circulation model. The sensitivity of the trajectory simulations to the frequency of the stored velocity fields was tested for periods of 3 and 6 h as well as 5 days. The relative dispersion of the surface-drifter and model trajectories has been compared, where the latter was found to be too low compared to the relative dispersion of the drifters.Two low-order trajectory sub-grid parameterisations were tested and successfully tuned so that the total amplitude of the relative dispersion of the model trajectories is similar to that associated with the drifter trajectories. These parameterisations are, however, too simple for a correct simulation of Lagrangian properties such as the correlation time scales and the variance of the eddy kinetic energy.The importance of model-grid resolution is quantified by comparing the relative dispersion from an eddy-permitting and a coarse-resolution model, respectively. The dispersion rate is halved with the coarse grid. The consequences of the two-dimensionality of the trajectories is evaluated by comparing the results obtained with the 2D and the Lagrangian 3D trajectories. This shows that the relative dispersion is 15% stronger when the trajectories are freely advected with the 3D velocity field.     

Lagrangian predictability assessed in the East China Sea

A group of 30 surface drifters, launched over a 4 day period as part of a US Navy exercise in early October 2007, are used to assess the predictability of trajectories in a confined geographic region at the northwestern edge of the Kuroshio north of Taiwan. Model trajectories were computed from archives of hourly hindcast velocities from the US Navy East Asian Seas (EAS16) model with 1/16° horizontal resolution. Three metrics are defined for comparing observed and modeled trajectories. All three metrics indicated that model trajectories separated from observations by roughly 15 km after the first 24 h on average. Because of the unique launch strategy for these drifters, with six repetitions of launches from four locations, the dependence of predictability on both launch time and launch location could be assessed separately. Predictive skill displayed only modest dependence on launch time, likely influenced by the passage of a typhoon near the experiment area a few days prior to the first drifter launch. Launch location was a much more reliable indicator of predictive skill, with trajectories for launches closest to the edge of the Kuroshio typically hardest to predict, and those for launches on the shelf, where currents tended to be weaker, predicted more accurately. Comparisons of skill metric statistics for modeled trajectories from hindcasts with and without tides suggested that tidal currents have only a small impact on predictive skill. The influence of archive time and space resolution was also studied using sets of model trajectories computed from hindcast archives that were systematically subsampled separately in space and time. Coarsening by up to a factor of eight in either space or time had little impact on predictive skill. Further coarsening degraded trajectory predictions, particularly when coarsening in time leads to an archive time step too large to adequately resolve the tides. While accurate trajectory predictions remain challenging for ocean models, skill assessments like the one presented here are important for developing error estimates for users of trajectory forecasts and for gaining new insight into potential sources of model errors.     

Numerical analysis on ship maneuvering coupled with ship motion in waves

This paper considers a numerical analysis of ship maneuvering performance in the presence of incident waves and resultant ship motion responses. To this end, a time-domain ship motion program is developed to solve the wave–body interaction problem with the ship slip speed and rotation, and it is coupled with a modular-type 4-DOF maneuvering problem. In this coupled problem, the second-order mean drift force, which can play an important role in the ship maneuvering trajectory, is estimated by using a direct pressure integration method. The developed method is validated by observing the second-order mean drift force, and planar trajectories in maneuvering tests with and without the presence of incident waves. The comparisons are made for two ship models, Series 60 with block coefficient 0.7 and the S-175 containership, with existing experimental data. The maneuvering tests observed in this study include a zig-zag test in calm water, and turning tests in calm water and in regular waves. The present results show a fair agreement of overall tendency in maneuvering trajectories.     

Lagrangian validation of numerical drifter trajectories using drifting buoys: Application to the Agulhas system

The skill of numerical Lagrangian drifter trajectories in three numerical models is assessed by comparing these numerically obtained paths to the trajectories of drifting buoys in the real ocean. The skill assessment is performed using the two-sample Kolmogorov–Smirnov statistical test. To demonstrate the assessment procedure, it is applied to three different models of the Agulhas region. The test can either be performed using crossing positions of one-dimensional sections in order to test model performance in specific locations, or using the total two-dimensional data set of trajectories. The test yields four quantities: a binary decision of model skill, a confidence level which can be used as a measure of goodness-of-fit of the model, a test statistic which can be used to determine the sensitivity of the confidence level, and cumulative distribution functions that aid in the qualitative analysis. The ordering of models by their confidence levels is the same as the ordering based on the qualitative analysis, which suggests that the method is suited for model validation. Only one of the three models, a 1/10° two-way nested regional ocean model, might have skill in the Agulhas region. The other two models, a 1/2° global model and a 1/8° assimilative model, might have skill only on some sections in the region.     

Near-surface recirculation over Georges Bank

Satellite-tracked drifters with drogues centered near-surface (5 m) and below the seasonal thermocline (50 m) were launched during late winter and spring of 1988 and 1989 in the northern Great South Channel in the western Gulf of Maine to investigate the regional circulation as part of the South Channel Ocean Productivity Experiment (SCOPEX). Many of the near-surface drifters became entrained in the clockwise gyre over Georges Bank, and eight drifters made a total of 16 complete circuits around the bank during the stratified season. The average recirculation period of these eight drifters was 48 days, and the average drifter speed around the bank was 12 cm s⁻¹. There is no clear evidence from the drifter data that the strength of the clockwise gyre over the bank increased with time during the stratified season. On average, these drifters (i) followed a relatively narrow path around the bank, except over the eastern end of the bank where three preferred paths were observed, (ii) moved fastest over the northern and southern flanks of the bank, (iii) did not enter a core area of 3500 km² centered at 41°17′N, 68°00′W, approximately 30 km southwest of the topographic center of the bank, and (iv) stopped circling the bank by the end of November, due in part to strong wind events that appeared to drive drifters off the bank. Curiously, none of the near-surface drifters moved from the southern flank of Georges Bank onto the New England shelf as might be expected from continuity of flow along the outer shelf; instead, the drifters that circled the bank tended to move off the bank along its southern flank. None of the drifters with drogues centered at 50 m appeared to recirculate around Georges Bank.     

Mechanistic Drifting Forecast Model for A Small Semi-Submersible Drifter Under Tide-Wind-Wave Conditions

Understanding the drifting motion of a small semi-submersible drifter is of vital importance regarding monitoring surface currents and the floating pollutants in coastal regions. This work addresses this issue by establishing a mechanistic drifting forecast model based on kinetic analysis. Taking tide-wind-wave into consideration, the forecast model is validated against in situ drifting experiment in the Radial Sand Ridges. Model results show good performance with respect to the measured drifting features, characterized by migrating back and forth twice a day with daily downwind displacements. Trajectory models are used to evaluate the influence of the individual hydrodynamic forcing. The tidal current is the fundamental dynamic condition in the Radial Sand Ridges and has the greatest impact on the drifting distance. However, it loses its leading position in the field of the daily displacement of the used drifter. The simulations reveal that different hydrodynamic forces dominate the daily displacement of the used drifter at different wind scales. The wave-induced mass transport has the greatest influence on the daily displacement at Beaufort wind scale 5-6; while wind drag contributes mostly at wind scale 2-4.     

Lagrangian flow patterns north of Cape Hatteras using near-surface drifters

Lagrangian flow patterns in the vicinity of Cape Hatteras are examined using the tracks of 42 drifters drogued at 10 m depth and initially deployed over Georges Bank. The drifters predominantly move southwestward over the continental shelf and slope. North of Cape Hatteras, the drifters become entrained in the Gulf Stream and are carried eastward into the central Atlantic Ocean. There are two types of entrainment, abrupt and gradual. The first is characterized by a rapid change in drifter speed and an abrupt shift in drifter direction to the east. During such entrainment events, the radius of curvature of the drifter track is less than 30 km. The second type of entrainment is characterized by a gradual change in drifter direction with little change in speed. The radius of curvature of drifter tracks during such entrainment events is large (typically 50 km). The latter type occurs more frequently in summer and fall, when stratification is stronger. The drifter tracks further reveal that entrainment from the shelfbreak front/slope water system into the Gulf Stream may occur a significant distance north of Cape Hatteras, occasionally as far north as 38 °N, 200 km north of Cape Hatteras. Only two drifter tracks extend along the shelf past Diamond Shoals into the South Atlantic Bight. Four drifters are ejected from the Gulf Stream and recirculate over the slope. The observed time scale of recirculation ranges over 1–3 months. These results suggest that there are a variety of processes that determine the maximum southward penetration of Mid-Atlantic Bight shelf water before entrainment into the Gulf Stream as well as the cross-slope speed of entrainment.     

Enhanced estimation of sonobuoy trajectories by velocity reconstruction with near-surface drifters

An investigation to improve trajectory prediction using Lagrangian data is presented. The velocity field of a data assimilating model, EAS-16, is corrected using drifter observations taken during an experiment off Taiwan. The results are tested using another independent Lagrangian data set provided by sonobuoys launched in the same area. The latter have instrument chains that extend well into the water column. Consequently the corrected model velocities were projected into the water column in order to calculate sonobuoy trajectories. The drifter and sonobuoy trajectories both show two distinct regimes in the considered area of approximately 1/2° square. One regime is dominated by shelf dynamics, the other by meandering of the Kuroshio, with a sharp boundary dividing the two. These two regimes are not reproduced by the trajectories of the EAS-16 model. When the drifter data are blended with the model velocities, synthetic sonobuoy trajectories track the observed ones much better, and the two regimes are clearly depicted. Two different methods for the velocity reconstruction are tested. One is based on a variational approach and the other on a normal mode decomposition. Both methods show qualitatively similar improvements in the prediction of sonobuoys trajectories, with a quantitative improvement in the total rms error of approximately 50% and 25%, respectively.     

Jellyfish patch formation investigated by aerial photography and drifter experiment

Jellyfish patch formation is investigated by conducting a drifter experiment combined with aerial photography of a sustained patch of the moon jellyfish in Hokezu Bay, Japan. Jellyfish patches are aggregations of individuals that are caused by a combination of swimming (active influence) and advection by currents (passive influence). The drifter experiment involved the injection of 49 drifters around a distinct surface patch of jellyfish within an area of approximately 300 m × 300 m. The drifters’ motion, caused only by the passive influence, was recorded in a series of 38 aerial photographs taken over approximately 1 h. The ambient uniform current field larger than the patch scale was estimated from the movement of the centroid position of drifters, while the distribution of horizontal divergence and relative vorticity around the patch was estimated from the time-derivative in areas of triangles formed by the drifters. The centroid positions of both drifters and patches moved stably toward the bay head at different speeds. The difference vector between the patch and drifter centroids was directed to the sun, and was opposite to the ambient current. The distributions of vorticity and divergence around patches exhibited inhomogeneity within the patch scale, and the drifters in this nonuniform current field aggregated near the convergence area within 1 h. The results suggest that horizontal patch formation is predominantly influenced by passive factors at the surface of Hokezu Bay. Furthermore, the upward swimming against downwelling may make sustained patch in surface layer.     

Typhoon-induced strong surface flows in the Taiwan strait and pacific

Surface Velocity Program drifters drogued at 15 m depth were deployed in the Taiwan Strait (TS) and Luzon Strait in 2005 and 2006. Several drifters in the TS and the Pacific were fortuitously overrun by the typhoon Hai-Tang (July 2005) and Shan-Shan (September 2006), respectively. The drifter and QuikSCAT wind data clearly demonstrate that the surface current over the TS and the Pacific can change dramatically for a period of about two days due to the strong winds of a typhoon during its passage. Our results show that the area of storm-affected surface currents is considerably smaller for a weaker typhoon (category 2 Shan-Shan), about 300∼400 km in radius, than for a stronger typhoon (category 5 Hai-Tang), about 800 km in radius. The maximum observed current speed in the TS was 1.7 ms⁻¹ (or 2.2 ms⁻¹ in net speed change) under the influence of Hai-Tang, and 2 ms⁻¹ in the Pacific under the influence of Shan-Shan. Drifter observations revealed the unusual phenomenon of flow reversal in the surface layer of TS and the Kuroshio induced by the typhoon passage. The effect of a typhoon on surface flows is amplified by the long, narrow geometry of the TS. Surface currents generated by wind forcing along the passage of a traveling typhoon can be explained by the Ekman drift.     

Mechanistic Drifting Forecast Model for A Small Semi-Submersible Drifter Under Tide–Wind–Wave Conditions

Understanding the drifting motion of a small semi-submersible drifter is of vital importance regarding monitoring surface currents and the floating pollutants in coastal regions. This work addresses this issue by establishing a mechanistic drifting forecast model based on kinetic analysis. Taking tide–wind–wave into consideration, the forecast model is validated against in situ drifting experiment in the Radial Sand Ridges. Model results show good performance with respect to the measured drifting features, characterized by migrating back and forth twice a day with daily downwind displacements. Trajectory models are used to evaluate the influence of the individual hydrodynamic forcing. The tidal current is the fundamental dynamic condition in the Radial Sand Ridges and has the greatest impact on the drifting distance. However, it loses its leading position in the field of the daily displacement of the used drifter. The simulations reveal that different hydrodynamic forces dominate the daily displacement of the used drifter at different wind scales. The wave-induced mass transport has the greatest influence on the daily displacement at Beaufort wind scale 5–6; while wind drag contributes mostly at wind scale 2–4.