Abstract
Fast Fourier transforms (FFT) and empirical orthogonal functions (EOF) have been widely applied to coastal zone current measurements. However riverine tides, estuarine outflows, and eddies, exhibit non-stationary characteristics which invalidate the basic assumptions of these methods. Wavelet analysis techniques can be used to determine the temporal evolution of ocean current variance over a range of frequency scales and therefore can provide an improved understanding of event-driven dynamics. To investigate the characteristics of this type of analysis, a simulated vortex was advected through a region consistent with a High-Frequency (HF) radar domain. Morlet continuous-wavelet transforms, bi-orthogonal discrete wavelet transforms, FFTs, EOPs and digital filtering techniques were applied to multiple vector time-series collected within the simulation domain. The stationary spectral analysis methods did not resolve the eddy well due to the distribution of the energy throughout the observation period. Band-pass filtering of each point created spurious anti-cyclonic eddy motions both preceding and following the simulated eddy. Morlet wavelets were shown to localize the vortex energy in both space and time, with a characteristic dipole pattern due to the axis of clockwise/counterclockwise rotational symmetry along the eddy path. Morlet and bi-orthogonal wavelet transforms were then applied to measurements from a HP Doppler radar deployed off the lower Florida Keys in May, 1994 when several sub-mesoscale eddies were observed. The wavelet energy demonstrated the characteristic dipole observed in the simulations, although little advection was observed in the real data.
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