Transport properties in small scale coastal flows: VHF radar measurements and FSLE analysis in the Gulf of La Spezia
Angelique C. Haza, Tamay M. Ozgokmen, Annalisa Griffa, Anne Molcard, Pierre M. Poulain
RSMAS, University of Miami
(Abstract received 08/14/2009 for session C)
ABSTRACT
FSLE maps are computed from VHF radar velocities in a 10 km by 10 km coastal area with a resolution of 250 meters. The evolution of the VHD radar-derived FSLEs is compared to an independent data set consisting of two drifter clusters launched during the same period. Results show that the drifters tend to follow the edges of FSLE ridges or extrema, leading to the following conclusions: First, the local FSLE appears to be an effective tool in mapping the natural transport barriers of the flow, and its evolution in time can document the potential fate of surface passive tracers for each region delimited by the ridges of FSLE extrema, even in the case of rapidly-varying complex coastal flows. Second, the computations of the FSLE maps at each time iteration eliminates the propagation and accumulation of errors from radar velocity measurements into particle advection. As such, comparison of FSLE maps to observed drifter trajectories appears to provide insight to study transport characteristics in coastal flows.
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