Identification of Marine Eddies from Altimetric Maps

Abstract

A procedure is presented to detect eddy cores from sea level anomaly (SLA) maps obtained from altimetric measurements. The method is based on finding the sign of Q, which is an invariant of the velocity gradient tensor (?u). This parameter, commonly used in studies of two-dimensional turbulence, measures the relative contribution of deformation and vorticity. Vortex cores are associated with regions with large and positive values of Q. It is shown that this parameter is adequate to detect marine eddies in altimetric maps and, when the geometry of streamline contours in SLA maps is unclear, the Q > 0 criterion appears to work more consistently. The performance of the methodology is applied, as an example, to altimetric maps of the Algerian Basin in the Western Mediterranean Sea, where two long-lived eddies are tracked. The observed trajectories are in good agreement with Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) images.