An investigation of offshore circulation using satellite data and feature tracking techniques.

Download
Author
Lennon, Gary R.
Date
1987-09Advisor
Smith, David C. IV
Batteen, Mary L.
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Satellite-derived sea surface motion vectors are obtained for an area 100 to 300
kilometers from the central California coast south of Point Arena. These vectors are
compared with hydrographic data acquired during the OPTOMA 21 cruise. Three
AVHRR images, with 24 hour spacing between images, are used to create two sets of
sea surface flow vectors. The vectors obtained show only limited agreement with
geostrophic velocities computed relative to 750 meters. There is good agreement when
the geostrophic flow is strong and persistent submesoscale features are advected by the
flow. Unfortunately this technique is only able to identify some of the strong flows and
its utility for identifying weak ( < 10 cm/ sec) flows is questionable. There are
numerous eddies and perturbations in the surface flow in this area that cannot be
resolved by this technique when the images are 24 hours apart. Cloud contamination in
the second image emphasizes the dependence of this technique on an unobstructed
view of the ocean. Nevertheless, when used with an understanding of its limitations,
the feature tracking technique can be a useful method of interpreting satellite
oceanographic data.
Rights
This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.Collections
Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
Sea surface current estimates off Central California as derived from enhanced AVHRR infrared images
Fang, Chung-Ming (1987-09);A technique is presented which uses an interactive computer program to estimate sea surface current velocity from the displacement of sea surface temperature (SST) patterns apparent in enhanced sequential Infrared (IR)images ... -
An Automatic Cloud Tracking System Based on the Cross-Covariance Method
Lee, David H.; Nagle, Roland E. (1980-08);An automatic cloud tracking system based on the computation of the cross-covariance between satellite images has been developed. The six steps of the System for Automatic Wind Extraction from Geostationary Satellite-Data ... -
Error analysis of real-time remotely sensed microwave sea-ice motions in the Western Arctic Ocean
Carsten, David M. (Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School, 2000-09);An algorithm used to composite SSM/I 85.5 GHz imagery and derive sea ice motion was adapted for operational testing at Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Command (FNMOC). A feature tracking technique was applied ...