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Current patterns on the West Florida Shelf from joint self-organizing map analyses of HF radar and ADCP data
Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology (2007)
  • Yonggang Liu, University of South Florida
  • Robert H Weisberg, University of South Florida
  • Lynn K Shay, University of Miami
Abstract

To assess the spatial structures and temporal evolutions of distinct physical processes on the West Florida Shelf, patterns of ocean current variability are extracted from a joint HF radar and ADCP dataset acquired from August to September 2003 using Self-Organizing Map (SOM) analyses. Three separate ocean– atmosphere frequency bands are considered: semidiurnal, diurnal, and subtidal. The currents in the semidiurnal band are relatively homogeneous in space, barotropic, clockwise polarized, and have a neap-spring modulation consistent with semidiurnal tides. The currents in the diurnal band are less homogeneous, more baroclinic, and clockwise polarized, consistent with a combination of diurnal tides and near-inertial oscillations. The currents in the subtidal frequency band are stronger and with more complex patterns consistent with wind and buoyancy forcing. The SOM is shown to be a useful technique for extracting ocean current patterns with dynamically distinctive spatial and temporal structures sampled by HF radar and supporting in situ measurements.

Keywords
  • Self-Organizing Map,
  • SOM,
  • ocean currents,
  • HF radar
Publication Date
2007
Citation Information
Yonggang Liu, Robert H Weisberg and Lynn K Shay. "Current patterns on the West Florida Shelf from joint self-organizing map analyses of HF radar and ADCP data" Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology Vol. 24 (2007)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/yliu/16/