LATEX (LAgrangian Transport EXperiment): strategy and preliminary results.
A. Petrenko, A. Doglioli, Z. Hu, F. Diaz, R. Campbell, I. Dekeyser, and LATEX group.
LOPB, COM, Marseille
(Abstract received 07/17/2009 for session E)
ABSTRACT
The Lagrangian Transport Experiment (LATEX) aims to study the influence of coupled physical and biochemical dynamics at (sub) mesoscales on matter and heat transfers between the coastal zone and the open ocean. Mesoscale and sub-mesoscale hydrodynamic features, occuring at the interface between the continental slope and the coastal margin, are key to the understanding of transfers between the coastal zone and the open ocean. However, these processes are still not fully understood. At these scales, the influence of physical processes on biogeochemistry is clearly shown in numerical studies. Confirmations by experiments are difficult, and hence rare, because experimental strategies generally differ greatly whether they are oriented towards a physical study or a biogeochemical one. The LATEX strategy is based on combining Lagrangian in situ measurements (Lagrangian buoys and SF6 tracer) with numerical modelling, satellite data, gliders and Eulerian measurements. The study area is the western part of the Gulf of Lion, where coastal anticyclonic eddies are suspected to interact with the Northern Current flowing along the slope. The project sampling strategy will be presented as well as preliminary results on numerical modeling and in situ measurements.
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