A Wavelet-Based Technique for Identifying, Labeling, and Tracking of Ocean Eddies

Abstract

Wavelet analysis offers a new approach for viewing and analyzing various large datasets by dividing information according to scale and location. Here a new method is presented that is designed to characterize time-evolving structures in large datasets from computer simulations and from observational data. An example of the use of this method to identify, classify, label, and track eddylike structures in a time-evolving dataset is presented. The initial target application is satellite data from the TOPEX/Poseiden satellite. But, the technique can certainly be used in any large dataset that might contain time-evolving or stationary structures.