WEIGHTING FACTORS AND CONFIDENCE LIMITS FOR SYNOPTIC SONIC LAYER DEPTH ANALYSES.

To enhance the utility of synoptic mixed layer depth analyses, the time period for which an analysis is valid and the degree of variability to be expected within that period should be known. Further, data used in preparing an analysis should be appropriately weighted to reflect departures from true...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Khedouri, Edward
Other Authors: NAVAL OCEANOGRAPHIC OFFICE NSTL STATION MS
Format: Text
Language:English
Published: 1968
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/AD0841949
http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=AD0841949
Description
Summary:To enhance the utility of synoptic mixed layer depth analyses, the time period for which an analysis is valid and the degree of variability to be expected within that period should be known. Further, data used in preparing an analysis should be appropriately weighted to reflect departures from true synopticity. Time series records of layer depth from six quasi-fixed locations were analyzed statistically to derive a relationship between degree of variability and sampling frequency. For five stations in the western North Atlantic, the relationship is markedly similar and can be expressed by a single hyperbolic function with negligible error. Neither seasonal nor areal effects are discernible although the water characteristics at the stations are very different. Analysis of the sixth record, from a North Pacific station, showed little accord with the others. These results suggest that common criteria of variability can be employed in the entire western North Atlantic and relative weighting factors, derived from the equation, are proposed. (Author)