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.     

上海沿海海上搜救预测模型系统的研究和应用

利用中尺度气象模式WRF(Weather Research and Forecasting Model)、无结构网格近岸海洋模式FVCOM(Finite-Volume Coastal and Ocean Model)和基于蒙特卡洛随机统计理论的海上搜救目标漂移轨迹模式Leeway,建立了长江口及邻近海域海上搜救物漂移轨迹预测模型系统。漂移轨迹预测以风和表层海流预报为基础,考虑了包括落水位置和时间、风致漂移方向、搜救目标物状态的不确定性以及风场预报误差带来的漂移路径预测误差,经统计获得搜救目标物可能漂移集合范围。对近年来发生在长江口邻近海域的海难事故后报模拟验证结果证明了Leeway模式在长江口邻近海域的适用性,同时表明所建立的搜救模型系统具有较高的精度,操作方便、时效性高,在搜救业务化预报工作中具有广阔的应用前景。     

Application of leeway drift data to predict the drift of panga skiffs: Case study of maritime search and rescue in the tropical pacific

The use of Search and Rescue (SAR) drift forecasting in an operational capacity is demonstrated through two SAR case studies, each predicting the drift of a panga skiff for 120 h (Case 1) and 72 h (Case 2). The leeway characteristics of panga skiffs were previously unknown, until a leeway field study was undertaken in mid-2012 to empirically determine the influence of wind and waves on their drift. As part of the two case studies described herein, four ocean models were used as environmental forcing for a stochastic particle trajectory model, to forecast the drift and resulting search areas for the panga skiffs. Each of the four ocean models were tested individually, and then combined into a consensus forecast to ascertain which ocean model was the most accurate in terms of distance error of modelled positions compared to actual panga skiff locations. Additionally, a hit analysis was undertaken to determine whether the panga skiff was located within the forecast search areas for each ocean model, and for consensus search areas. Finally, an assessment of the search area sizes was carried out to assess the single ocean model forecast search area sizes, and how they compared with the consensus search area size. In both of the case studies, all four ocean model forecast search areas contained the panga skiff at the time intervals tested, indicating a 100% hit rate and general consensus between the ocean models. The consensus search area, where all four ocean models overlapped, was approximately one third the size of the average single model search area. This demonstrates that the consensus search areas provide a more efficient search area compared to individual ocean model search area forecasts.