Summary of Review Article - Sumalinog

Name: Joycelyn P.
Sumalinog
Strand: STEM 11- SAMSON
Analysis of Oceanography Surface Current Pattern
Compiled and Arranged Summary of Review Article
In operational oceanography, surface currents are a key topic with expanding

observation and forecasting capabilities. We are moving into an era where numerical models
have the predictive power and observations give a sufficient degree of detail for applications
that employ surface current data to improve marine safety, environmental monitoring and
creation. Real-time surface current fields at the scale of kilometers are now made possible by
observation techniques (Isern-Fontanet et al. 2017), and high-resolution ocean models are
almost capable of making predictions on short time periods (Jacobs et al. 2014b; Sandery and
Sakov 2017; Christensen et al. 2018). In this context, we focus on small time scales, which are
defined by the inertial period and range from a few hours to a few days. The difficulties in
gathering and comprehending observational and model data of ocean currents near the surface
are the driving force behind this endeavor. Varied Lagrangian drifter designs, as shown in
Figure 1, have extremely different behaviors, and Eulerian current meters do not adequately
resolve the surface (Poulain et al. 2009; Morey et al. 2018). Resolving vertical shear in the
upper few centimeters to decimeters, which has a significant impact on some drift applications,
is a challenge in modeling. Because each technique offers a distinct representation of surface
current dynamics, consistent synthesis between in situ measurements, remote sensing, and
modeling is required in the analysis of surface currents, as shown in Figure 2. However, there is
disagreement on the depth and time frame to which the phrase "surface current" pertains
(Laxague et al. 2018).
Figure 1. Diagram showing the many types of surface drifters and surface current
regimes. The friction layer, the constant flow layer, and the Ekman layer are the three sections
of the ocean surface boundary layer in this picture. Elevated turbulent mixing dominates the
whole boundary layer, with lower mixing near the surface and at the bottom of the mixed layer
and the largest and most effective mixing occurring in the interior. Severe wind-driven shear of
velocity magnitude in the friction layer and the constant flux layer, as well as strong shear in
direction throughout the Ekman layer, are characteristics of surface currents. In this example,
the deep ocean current's flow is random and unrelated to the wind's direction in reality. Bamboo
plate, iSphere drifter, CODE-drogued, and SVP-drogued are the surface drifters, from left to
right. The chaotic nature of marine flow and its unpredictability on sizes not covered by
observation networks have long been a barrier to the use of ocean currents from operational
forecasting for the majority of these applications. Ocean currents are made up of a variety of
phenomena, including large-scale geostrophic currents, eddies and fronts at intermediate
scales, and Langmuir circulation cells that are close to the scale of oceanic turbulence (Chelton
et al., 2007). (McWilliams et al. 2012). The temporal variation of other elements of ocean
currents, such as tides and wind-driven near inertial waves, allows for better differentiation
(Alford and Gregg 2001). Models of operational ocean circulation are frequently used to
estimate drift paths (Griffa et al. 2007). Because drift in the highest section of the ocean varies
substantially with depth, it is important to use the current at the target depth for the application
under consideration for oceanic drift at or near the ocean surface. However, ocean models
usually lack coupling mechanisms for air-wave-sea interactions to properly describe strongly
pushed drift in severe weather events, or they fail to resolve the near-surface gradients of wind-
induced shear (e.g. Chassignet and Verron 2006; Dagestad and Röhrs 2019). It should always
be clear which aspect of the ocean circulation is being discussed when discussing surface
currents. Based on a review of surface current processes and applications that call for up-to-
date knowledge, we propose a classification for surface currents in this paper. The Australian
Forum for Operational Oceanography's surface current working group, which was formed after
the inaugural conference in 2015, similarly identified a better definition of surface currents as a
top goal. They advise users and suppliers of ocean data to be very clear about the appropriate
periods and depths below the surface. The most popular applications and the information they
need are covered in Section 2. In Section 3, we give an outline of the basic principles governing
surface currents. The purpose of each observation technique is discussed in Section 4 along
with the appropriate application. In Section 5, models' surface current outputs are explored, with
a section devoted specifically to particle tracking models. The discussion (Section 6) offers
some proposed terminology for surface currents as well as an opinion on their predictability and
variability. Isern-Fontanet et al(2017) .'s review on remote sensing and data assimilation,
Shutler et al(2016) .'s review of satellite observations of the ocean surface, Le Traon et al(2015)
.'s review of the use of Lagrangian drifters to study surface currents, and Lumpkin et al(2017) .'s
review are other reviews that address surface currents. Christensen et al. (2018) explore the
potential for short-term drift forecasts, and LaCasce (2008) and van Sebille et al. (2018) take a
look at a variety of methods for analyzing Lagrangian data that are pertinent to surface
circulation.
All model grid points within the circle in Figure 6 are included in the data shown in Figure
8 over a time period of 48 hours, which is the length of a hypothetical forecast in this case. The
histograms in Figure 8(a,b) show that the region frequently experiences strong northeasterly
and westerly currents, which are caused by both tides and the coastal jet current. Figure
8(ctime-dependent )'s direction histogram also depicts the expected timing of each tidal phase.
One may deduce that the greatest currents in the chosen location are up to 0.6 m/s and in a
northeasterly direction from the time series of total current speed in Figure 8(d). According to
Figure 6, the coastal jet should be predicted to cause the extreme current speeds in the
southern portion of the enclosed zone. In spite of the unpredictable nature of the mesoscale
features, this information can be gleaned from the model data. Wind-driven currents and tides
have a significant impact on operational oceanography since these applications need data on
time scales ranging from hours to days. By distinguishing predictable components from other
elements, i.e. mesoscale features, a good forecast of surface currents can be made because
these are predictable. The low-frequency geostrophic flow is also a now-casting issue that has
already been provided in operational context.

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Name: Joycelyn P.

Strand: STEM 11- SAMSON

Analysis of Oceanography Surface Current Pattern

Compiled and Arranged Summary of Review Article

In operational oceanography, surface currents are a key topic with expanding

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