Contouring Program for Generation of Sea Surface Temperature Maps

摘要

A FORTRAN program written for the purpose of generating two-dimensional contoured fields of sea surface temperature is described. The program accepts temperature data that are spatially equispaced from punched cards and generates a set of points corresponding to each contour line of the specified contour interval. The program user specifies the contour interval and the program determines the range of values present in the data field and the number of contours to be generated. A search method is used whereby the boundaries of the data array are examined for the presence of contour lines. Then the search proceeds to the interior of the data field. The program readily detects isolated maximum and minimum temperature features. The output data representing the individual contour lines are smoothed before the lines are drawn by the Calcomp plotter. The program is set for a 15 deg x 15 deg (latitude x longitude) area and the Brazilian coastline corresponding to the general area is drawn onto the chart, prior to constructing the contoured temperature field. As given in this report, the program uses a 10 inch Calcomp plotter machine.