Objective Analysis of Oceanic Data for Coast Guard Trajectory Models.

The Coast Guard uses ocean surface velocity fields as input to trajectory models in search planning to determine search area movement. Statistical techniques, called objective analysis, are used by meteorologists and oceanographers to combine observed data, which are irregularly distributed in space...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Other Authors: APPLIED MATHEMATICS INC GALES FERRY CT
Format: Text
Language:English
Published: 1995
Subjects:
Physical and Dynamic Oceanography
Operations Research
*VELOCITY
*OCEANOGRAPHIC DATA
*OCEAN MODELS
*SEARCH AND RESCUE
DATA BASES
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
ALGORITHMS
OPTIMIZATION
OCEAN CURRENTS
OCEAN SURFACE
REAL TIME
NUMERICAL ANALYSIS
ACCURACY
INPUT OUTPUT PROCESSING
MONTE CARLO METHOD
ESTIMATES
DRIFT
FEASIBILITY STUDIES
ERRORS
STATISTICAL PROCESSES
COAST GUARD RESEARCH
SEA ICE
BUOYS
OBJECTIVE ANALYSIS
Sea ice
Online Access:http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA292884
http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA292884
Description
Summary:The Coast Guard uses ocean surface velocity fields as input to trajectory models in search planning to determine search area movement. Statistical techniques, called objective analysis, are used by meteorologists and oceanographers to combine observed data, which are irregularly distributed in space and time, to make conclusions about the total variation of the variables within a region of interest. The purpose of the Phase 1 research was to study the feasibility of adapting objective analysis techniques for use with Coast Guard data. The following research was completed. Objective analysis techniques were used to combine irregularly spaced and temporally observed ocean current velocity data in order to determine an optimally estimated velocity field and associated error field. The technique was applied to a drifting buoy data set collected by the Coast Guard. A numerical experiment was also conducted to examine the number of buoys required to determine the velocity field in a typical Search and Rescue domain. Techniques for combining two velocity fields were also investigated. The research findings were that objective analysis techniques can be used to provide the Coast Guard with accurate estimates, in real time, of ocean surface velocity and associated error. Potential applications of this research are in support of Coast Guard Search and Rescue, Ice Patrol and Environmental Protection missions. (AN)

Similar Items