Feature Model of the Iceland-Faeroe Front for Application in the U.S. Navy Optimum Interpolation-Based Thermal Analysis System. (Reannouncement with New Availability Information).

摘要

The sparsity of data, especially at depth, is a major impediment to effective analysis of the mesoscale ocean thermal structure. Feature models, which are descriptions of the typical, large-scale structure of ocean fronts and rings, can be used to infer the subsurface structure of ocean features from observations of their paths at the surface. These models are a powerful means to supplement observations with a knowledge of the oceanography of the features. A feature model for the Iceland-Faeroe Front is presented. The model maps the frontal surface in a vertical plane between its path at the surface and its assumed fixed path on the bottom along the Iceland-Faeroe Ridge. The product of the feature model is a inferred temperature profile that is a weighted sum of the two water mass climatologies that are juxtaposed across the front. The weighting is a function of the distance to the frontal surface. An ensemble of the profiles describes the front. A comparison model-generated and observed horizontal and vertical temperature sections shows good agreement.