The Effect of Wind and Surface Currents on Drifters

Kirwan, A. D.; McNally, G.; Chang, Mao Sheng; Molinari, Robert L.

doi:10.1175/1520-0485(1975)005<0361:teowas>2.0.co;2

Cited by 63 publications

(19 citation statements)

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“…Up to 10 drifters were deployed simultaneously and were drogued at depths between 4 and 10 m. A deployment consisted of releasing the drifter at a chosen location, retrieving it after a duration of approximately 12-30 h (depending on receiver batteries type and sampling frequency), and downloading the positions along its trajectory recorded by the GPS. GPS-tracked mixed layer drifters have been widely used and recognized in oceanographic studies as excellent water followers [5,11]. However, the movement of a drifter is influenced by slip-producing forces (wind, waves etc.)…”

Section: Observation Techniquesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A mesoscale vortex in a small stratified lake

2008

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A mesoscale vortex structure in the small stratified Lake Stechlin has been revealed by field experiments with satellite-tracked quasi-lagrangian drifters. The vortex with a radius of about 200 m drifted at 300 m/day along the western bight of the lake with nearly constant rotation speed of 3 cpd. Analysis of kinematical properties of the vortex motion demonstrates solid body character of rotation. Extrapolation of the vortex drift trajectory over the period preceding the observations combined with data on local winds and seiche dynamics has allowed tracing the vortex fate from its generation point. The normal modes analysis of the internal seiching in the lake reveals the vortex generation mechanism to be the interaction of certain seiche modes with local bottom topography and suggests generation of the mesoscale vortices to be the a regular feature of the lake circulation. Analysis of vorticity suggests additional energy supply to rotational flow, possibly from inverse cascading of small-scale turbulent motions-a feature typical for quasi-2D turbulence. The vortices can play an important role in the energy transport from basin-scale motions to small-scale boundary mixing. They can also contribute significantly to the horizontal heterogeneity of phyto-and zooplankton distribution as well as to the transport of dissolved matter such as nutrients between littoral and profundal areas. The topographically generated traveling vortices represent an analog of the synoptic eddies in the Ocean and in the Atmosphere, whereas their role in the lake hydrodynamics is practically unknown.

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Section: Observation Techniquesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The wind drag force applied normally to the float is known to be the most important of the surface forces [11,15] and can be expressed in the same manner as the currents drag in Eq. 1:…”

Section: Observation Techniquesmentioning

confidence: 99%

A mesoscale vortex in a small stratified lake

2008

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“…Kirwan et al, 1975Kirwan et al, , 1978Vachon, 1980;Chhabra, 1985;Chereskin et al, 1989;Krauss et al, 1989), or through the measurement of the relative slip between the drifter and the surrounding waters (e.g. Niiler et al, 1987Niiler et al, , 1995Geyer, 1989).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Field validation of a semi-spherical Lagrangian drifter

Gasser¹,

Salvador²,

Sangrà³

et al. 2001

Sci. Mar.

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SUMMARY: We present the design and field validation for the performance of a Semi-spherical Lagrangian Drifter (SELD). The SELD is a low-cost, low-technology, home-made alternative to much more expensive commercial Lagrangian drifters. An analysis of the SELD configuration shows that its drag area ratio is as good as TRISTAR and holey-sock drifters. Field results in a situation of near solid rotation within an oceanic vortex confirm that SELD and holey-sock drifters have an almost identical behavior.

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“…Many experiments [e.g., Kirwan et al, 1975;Niiler et al, 1987;Geyer, 1989] and model studies [e.g., Chereskin et al, 1989] have been made to describe and quantify the waterfollowing capabilities of drifters in the presence of various wind, wave and current regimes. Two techniques are used: (1) Forces on the buoy are measured or modeled and the relative slip is computed, or (2) Relative slip is measured and force balances are estimated.…”

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confidence: 99%