A method of automatic shape depiction and information extraction for oceanic eddies in SAR images

Synthetic aperture radar （SAR） provides a large amount of image data for the observation and research of oceanic eddies. The use of SAR images to automatically depict the shape of eddies and extract the eddy information is of great significance to the study of the oceanic eddies and the application of SAR eddy images. In this paper, a method of automatic shape depiction and information extraction for oceanic eddies in SAR images is proposed, which is for the research of spiral eddies. Firstly, the skeleton image is got by the skeletonization of SAR image. Secondly, the logarithmic spirals detected in the skeleton image are drawn on the SAR image to depict the shape of oceanic eddies. Finally, the eddy information is extracted based on the results of shape depiction. The sentinel 1 SAR eddy images in the Black Sea area were used for the experiment in this paper. The experimental results show that the proposed method can automatically depict the shape of eddies and extract the eddy information. The shape depiction results are consistent with the actual shape of the eddies, and the extracted eddy information is consistent with the reference information extracted by manual operation. As a result, the validity of the method is verified.

Automatic detection of oceanic eddies in reanalyzed SST images and its application in the East China Sea

Oceanic eddies may cause local sea surface temperature （SST）, height, and salinity anomalies in remote sensing （RS） images. Remote sensed SST imagery has proven to be an effective technique in oceanic eddy detection, because of its high temporal and spatial resolution. Various techniques have been used to identify eddies from SST images. However, mainly owing to the strong morphological variation of oceanic eddies, there is arguably no uniquely correct eddy detection method. A scheme of algorithm based on quasi-contour tracing and clustering of eddy detection from SST dataset is presented. The method does not impose fixed restrictions or limitations during the course of ＂suspected＂ eddy detection, and any eddy-like structures can be detected as ＂suspected＂ eddies. Then, ＂true＂ eddies can be identified based on the combination of intensity and spatial/temporal scale criteria. This approach has been applied to detect eddies in the East China Sea by using Operational SST ＆ Sea Ice Analysis （OSTIA） dataset. Experiments proved that oceanic eddies ranging in diameter from tens to hundreds of kilometers can be detected. Through investigation of the 2007-2011 OSTIA daily SST dataset from the Kuroshio region in the East China Sea, we found that the most active regions for oceanic eddies are those along the Kuroshio path, northeast of Taiwan Island, the Yangtze Estuary and the Ryukyu Islands. About 86% of the cyclonic eddies and 87% of the anticyclonic eddies have the size of 50-100 km in diameter. Only 25% of the anticyclonic eddy and 26% of the cyclonic eddy have the strength more than 0.4℃ in the sea surface layer.

Atmospheric Response to Mesoscale Ocean Eddies over the South China Sea

The South China Sea（SCS） is an eddy-active area. Composite analyses based on 438 mesoscale ocean eddies during 2000–2012 revealed the status of the atmospheric boundary layer is influenced remarkably by such eddies. The results showed cold-core cyclonic（warm-core anticyclonic） eddies tend to cool（warm） the overlying atmosphere and cause surface winds to decelerate（accelerate）. More than 5% of the total variance of turbulent heat fluxes, surface wind speed and evaporation rate are induced by mesoscale eddies. Furthermore, mesoscale eddies locally affect the columnar water vapor, cloud liquid water, and rain rate. Dynamical analyses indicated that both variations of atmospheric boundary layer stability and sea level pressure are responsible for atmospheric anomalies over mesoscale eddies. To reveal further details about the mechanisms of atmospheric responses to mesoscale eddies, atmospheric manifestations over a pair of cold and warm eddies in the southwestern SCS were simulated. Eddy-induced heat flux anomalies lead to changes in atmospheric stability. Thus, anomalous turbulence kinetic energy and friction velocity arise over the eddy dipole, which reduce（enhance） the vertical momentum transport over the cold（warm） eddy, resulting in the decrease（increase） of sea surface wind. Diagnoses of the model＇s momentum balance suggested that wind speed anomalies directly over the eddy dipole are dominated by vertical mixing terms within the atmospheric boundary layer, while wind anomalies on the edges of eddies are produced by atmospheric pressure gradient forces and atmospheric horizontal advection terms.

Multifractal filtering method for extraction of ocean eddies from remotely sensed imagery

Traditional methods of extracting the ocean wave eddy information from remotely sensed imagery mainly use the edge detection technology such as Canny and Hough operators. However, due to the complexities of ocean eddies and image itself, it is sometimes difficult to successfully detect ocean eddies using these methods. A mnltifractal filtering technology is proposed for extraction of ocean eddies and demonstrated using NASA MODIS, SeaWiFS and NOAA satellite data set in the typical area, such as ocean west boundary current. Results showed that the new method has a superior performance over the traditional methods.

An oceanic eddy statistical comparison using multiple observational data in the Kuroshio Extension region

Eddy characteristics derived from different data resources are compared： sea surface temperature（SST）, sea surface height anomaly（SSHA） and surface drifter trajectories. The comparison suggests that the eddy statistical characteristics are different using different variables to delineate eddies, but they show the similar trend. Based on the comparison, abnormal eddies with warm（cold） cores but counter-clockwise（clockwise） rotation are found in the Kuroshio Extension region.

Tracking the evolution processes and behaviors of mesoscale eddies in the South China Sea：a global nearest neighbor filter approach

The eddy tracking approach is developed using the global nearest neighbor filter（GNNF） to investigate the evolution processes and behaviors of mesoscale eddies in the South China Sea（SCS）. Combining the Kalman filter and optimal data association technologies, the GNNF algorithm is able to reduce pairing errors to 0.2% in tracking synthetic eddy tracks, outperforming other existing methods. A total of 4 913 eddy tracks that last more than a week are obtained by the GNNF during 1993–2012. The analysis of a growth and a decay based on 3 445 simple eddy tracks show that eddy radius, amplitude, and vorticity smoothly increase during the first half of lifetime and decline during the second half following a parabola opening downwards. The genesis of eddies mainly clusters northwest and southwest of Luzon Island whereas the dissipations concentrate the Xisha Islands where the underwater bay traps and terminates eddies. West of the Luzon Strait, northwest of Luzon Island, and southeast of Vietnam are regions where eddy splits and mergers are frequently observed. Short disappearances mainly distribute in the first two regions. Moreover, eddy splits generally result in a decrease of the radius and the amplitude whereas eddy mergers induce growing up. Eddy intensity and vorticity, on the contrary, are strengthened in the eddy splits and diminished in mergers.

Submesoscale eddies in the East China Sea detected from SAR images

Seven-year(2005-2011)Synthetic Aperture Radar(SAR)images are applied to study oceanic eddies in the East China Sea.It is found that most of these eddies detected from the SAR images are less than 10 km,which are submesoscale eddies.Seasonal differences are evident in the distribution of eddies,with the highest and the lowest number of eddies noted in summer and winter,respectively.Since slick streaks in SAR images look dark,an eddy identified due to the slicks is referred to as“black eddy”.As a result of wave-current interactions in the zones of current shear,it can be seen that an eddy exhibits a bright curve,the eddy is called“white eddy”.During the seven years,95 black eddies and 50 white eddies are identified in the study area.Black eddies are found in the whole study area while white eddies are mainly distributed in the vicinity of the Kuroshio Current.This study suggests that the distribution of the white eddy is denser around the Kuroshio because of the strong shear in the Kuroshio region.In terms of the eddy sizes,white eddies are generally smaller than black eddies.

Regional Characteristics of Typhoon-Induced Ocean Eddies in the East China Sea

The asymmetrical structure of typhoon-induced ocean eddies（TIOEs） in the East China Sea（including the Yellow Sea）and the accompanying air–sea interaction are studied using reanalysis products. Thirteen TIOEs are analyzed and divided into three groups with the k-prototype method： Group A with typhoons passing through the central Yellow Sea; Group B with typhoons re-entering the sea from the western Yellow Sea after landing on continental China; and Group C with typhoons occurring across the eastern Yellow Sea near to the Korean Peninsula. The study region is divided into three zones（Zones Ⅰ, Ⅱ and Ⅲ） according to water depth and the Kuroshio position. The TIOEs in Group A are the strongest and could reverse part of the Kuroshio stream, while TIOEs in the other two groups are easily deformed by topography. The strong currents of the TIOEs impact on the latent heat flux distribution and upward transport, which facilitates the typhoon development. The strong divergence within the TIOEs favors an upwelling-induced cooling. A typical TIOE analysis shows that the intensity of the upwelling of TIOEs is proportional to the water depth, but its magnitude is weaker than the upwelling induced by the topography. In Zones Ⅰ and Ⅱ, the vertical dimensions of TIOEs and their strong currents are much less than the water depths.In shallow water Zone Ⅲ, a reversed circulation appears in the lower layer. The strong currents can lead to a greater, faster,and deeper energy transfer downwards than at the center of TIOEs.

Spatial information recognizing of ocean eddies based on virtual force field and its application

A new approach to detecting ocean eddies automatically from remote sensing imageries based on the ocean eddy＇s eigen-pattern in remote sensing imagery and ＂force field-based shape extracting method＂ is proposed. First, the analysis on extracting eddies＇ edges from remote sensing imagery using conventional edge detection arithmetic operators is performed and returns digitized vector edge data as a result. Second, attraction forces and fusion forces between edge curves were analyzed and calculated based on the vector eddy edges. Thirdly, the virtual significant spatial patterns of eddy were detected automatically using iterative repetition followed by optimized rule. Finally, the spatial form auto-detection of different types of ocean eddies was done using satellite images. The study verified that this is an effective way to identify and detect the ocean eddy with a complex form.

A three-dimensional ocean general circulation model for mesoscale eddies——Ⅱ Diagnostic analysis

A three-dimensional density field associated with mesoscaie unstable waves generated by the 3-D, primitive-equation model (Wang and Ikeda, 1996) is provided to the quasi-geostrophic pressure tendency and ω-equations, and to the (ageostrophic) Q-vector equation. Diagnostic analyses, analogous to the approaches in meteorology: ω-equation and Q-vector method, are for the first time developed to examine the mesoscaie dynamical processes and mechanisms of the unstable waves propagating in the mid-latitude ocean. The weaknesses and strengths of these two diagnostic approaches are evaluated and compared to the model results. The Q-vector method is then recommended to diagnose the vertical motion associated with the mesoscaie dynamics from a hydrographic CTD (conductivity-temperature-depth) array, while the quasi-geostrophic equations produce some small-scale features (errors) in the diagnosed fields.

Study on the mesoscale eddies around the Ryukyu Islands

Results of the Ocean General Circulation Model for the Earth Simulator（OFES） from January 1977 to December2006 are used to investigate mesoscale eddies near the Ryukyu Islands. The results show that：（1） Larger eddies are mainly east of Taiwan, above the Ryukyu Trench and south of the Shikoku Island. These three sea areas are all in the vicinity of the Ryukyu Current.（2） Eddies in the area of the Ryukyu Current are mainly anticyclonic, and conducive to that current. The transport of water east of the Ryukyu Islands is mainly toward the northeast.（3）The Ryukyu Current is significantly affected by the eddies. The lower the latitude, the greater these effects.However, the Kuroshio is relatively stable, and the effect of mesoscale eddies is not significant.（4） A warm eddy south of the Shikoku Island break away from the Kuroshio and move southwest, and is clearly affected by the Ryukyu Current and Kuroshio. Relationships between the mesoscale eddies, Kuroshio meanders, and Ryukyu Current are discussed.

Seismic Images of Shallow Waters over the Shatsky Rise in the Northwest Pacific Ocean

Recent studies have demonstrated the ability of seismic oceanography to reveal finescale vertical structures of water column in the oceans based on multichannel seismic(MCS)reflection data.Such information can clarify the dynamic processes of mixing,exchange,and translation of water mass and energy.In this study,we present four MCS lines and satellite data to show high-resolution seismic images of shallow waters over the Shatsky Rise in the Northwest Pacific Ocean,where the Kuroshio Exten-sion passes and bifurcates.One of our MCS transects crossed the center of an anticyclonic warm eddy on August 28,2010,confirmed by satellite data such as sea level anomaly(SLA),geostrophic current anomaly(GCA),and sea surface temperature anomaly(SSTa).The seismic image showed that the eddy vertical structure featured a bowl-like shape and onion-like internal layering.The slightly tilted(<0.5°)surface of the eddy was 400m below the sea surface,indicating a subsurface eddy.The eddy was inferred to have a radius of 50 km and a maximum thickness of 500m.Other MCS sections demonstrated the submesoscale structure of oceanfronts,characterized by the dipping reflectors(>2°-3°)at the boundaries between water masses with differing properties.In addition,the discrepancies in SLA,GCA,and SSTa between water masses resulted in different seismic reflectivities.The water masses with high SLA,anticyclonic GCA and positive SSTa featured high-amplitude,continuous,clear-layered,and non-linear reflections,whereas those with low SLA,cyclonic GCA,and negative SSTa were associated with weak,fragmented,less stratification,and more linear reflectors.

Study on the Meso-scale process of the Kuroshio front to the east of Taiwan

By using the reanalysis data, the impact of oceanic eddies and frontal wave on Kuroshio front to the east of Taiwan （KFETW） is studied. The result indicates that cold eddies （warm eddies） corresponding to the first baroclinic mode of Rossby wave can weaken （strengthen） the strength of the KFETW and narrow （widen） the width of this front. A frontal wave of the KFETW during January to February in 1991 is detected from the reanalysis data. And the trough （crest） of the frontal wave may weaken （strengthen） the strength of the KFETW and narrow （widen） the width and thickness of this front. It is found through the diagnostic analysis of the energy source of the frontal wave that the contribution of barotropic instability or that of baroclinic instability is more than that of Ketvin-Helmholtz （K-H） instability by 1 - 2 order of magnitude, and the contribution of the baroclinic instability is 5 times than that of the barotropic instability, thereby the frontal wave is basically driven by the baroclinic instability.

The most typical shape of oceanic mesoscale eddies from global satellite sea level observations

In this research, we normalized the character- istics of ocean eddies by using satellite observation of the Sea Level Anomaly （SLA） data to determine the most typical shape of ocean eddies. This normalization is based on modified analytic functions with nonlinear optimal fitting. The most typical eddy is the Taylor vortex （~50%）, which exhibits a Gaussian-shaped exp（-r2） SLA and a vorticity distribution of （1-rZ）exp（-r2） as a function of the normalized radii r. The larger the amplitude of the eddy, the more likely the eddy is to be Gaussian-shaped. Furthermore, approximately 40% of ocean eddies are combinations of two Gaussian eddies with different parameters, but the composition of these types of eddies is more like a quadratic eddy than a Gaussian one. Only a small portion of oceanic eddies are pure quadratic eddies （ 〈 10%） with the same vorticity distribution as a Rankine vortex. We concluded that the Taylor vortex is a good approximation of the typical shape of ocean eddies.

Impact of warm mesoscale eddy on tropical cyclone intensity

The spatial-temporal patterns of tropical cyclone(TC) intensity changes caused by the warm ocean mesoscale eddy(WOME) distribution are evaluated using two sets of idealized numerical experiments. The results show that the TC was intensified and weakened when a WOME was close to and far away from the TC center, respectively.The area where the WOME enhanced(weakened) TC intensity is called the inner(outer) area in this study.Amplitudes of the enhancement and weakening caused by the WOME in the inner and outer area decreased and increased over time, while the ranges of the inner and outer area diminished and expanded, respectively. The WOME in the inner area strengthened the secondary circulation of the TC, increased heat fluxes, strengthened the symmetry, and weakened the outer spiral rainband, which enhanced TC intensity. The effect was opposite if the WOME was in the outer area, and it weakened the TC intensity. The idealized simulation employed a stationary TC, and thus the results may only be applied to TCs with slow propagation. These findings can improve our understanding of the interactions between TC and the WOME and are helpful for improving TC intensity forecasting by considering the effect of the WOME in the outer areas.

Effect of random phase error and baseline roll angle error on eddy identification by interferometric imaging altimeter

To achieve better observation for sea surface,a new generation of wide-swath interferometric altimeter satellites is proposed.Before satellite launch,it is particularly important to study the data processing methods and carry out the detailed error analysis of ocean satellites,because it is directly related to the ultimate ability of satellites to capture ocean information.For this purpose,ocean eddies are considered a specific case of ocean signals,and it can cause significant changes in sea surface elevation.It is suitable for theoretical simulation of the sea surface and systematic simulation of the altimeter.We analyzed the impacts of random error and baseline error on the sea surface and ocean signals and proposed a combined strategy of low-pass filtering,empirical orthogonal function(EOF)decomposition,and linear fitting to remove the errors.Through this strategy,sea surface anomalies caused by errors were considerably improved,and the capability of satellite for capturing ocean information was enhanced.Notably,we found that the baseline error in sea surface height data was likely to cause inaccuracy in eddy boundary detection,as well as false eddy detection.These abnormalities could be prevented for"clean"sea surface height after the errors removal.

Role of mesoscale eddies on atmospheric convection during summer monsoon season over the Bay of Bengal: A case study

Our study aims to understand the variability of oceanic mesoscale eddies during contrasting(2009 and 2013)monsoon seasons and the role of such eddies on atmospheric deep convection over the Bay of Bengal(BoB).Oceanic eddies are detected and tracked using sea surface height anomalies(SSHA),by employing the Okubo-Weiss parameter eddy detection method.Significant differences in the SSHA and eddy activity are evident during the contrasting monsoon years.During the year 2013(2009),anticyclonic eddies are predominant(absent)in the eastern BoB and longer(shorter)lifespans of cyclonic eddies are observed in the northern and western BoB.Analysis of time-longitude SSHA and zonal wind stress reveals the presence of strong(weak)equatorial downwelling Kelvin waves,coastal Kelvin waves and Rossby waves in the BoB during 2013(2009)Indian summer monsoon(ISM).The variability of eddies in the BoB during contrasting monsoons is attributed by the remote forcing effect of planetary scale waves.Our study is extended to investigate the associated atmospheric deep convection over the regions of cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies.Lag-correlations demonstrates that SSHA leads the outgoing longwave radiation by four days over anticyclonic eddy regions.Findings from the present study provide new insight into the internal dynamics of the ocean.

Three-dimensional structure of mesoscale eddies in the western tropical Pacific as revealed by a high-resolution ocean simulation

The three-dimensional structure of mesoscale eddies in the western tropical Pacific(6°S–20°N, 120°E–150°E)is investigated using a high-resolution ocean model simulation. Eddy detection and eddy tracking algorithms are applied to simulated horizontal velocity vectors, and the anticyclonic and cyclonic eddies identified are composited to obtain their three-dimensional structures. The mean lifetime of all long-lived eddies is about 52 days, and their mean diameter is 147 km. Two typical characteristics of mesoscale eddies are revealed and possible dynamic explanations are analyzed. One typical characteristic is that surface eddies are generally separated from subthermocline eddies along the bifurcation latitude(~13°N) of the North Equatorial Current in the western tropical Pacific, which may be associated with different eddy energy sources and vertical eddy energy fluxes in subtropical and tropical gyres. Surface eddies have maximum swirl velocities of 8–9 cm s^(-1) and can extend to about 1500 m depth. Subthermocline eddies occur below 200 m, with their cores at about 400–600 m depth, and their maximum swirl velocities can reach 10 cm s^(-1). The other typical characteristic is that the meridional velocity component of the eddy is much larger than the zonal component. This characteristic might be due to more zonal eddy pairs(two eddies at the same latitude),which is also supported by the zonal wavelength(about 200 km) in the high-frequency meridional velocity component of the horizontal velocity.

Event detection and visualization of ocean eddies simulated by ocean general circulation model

Numerical study of ocean eddies has been carried out by using high-resolution ocean general circulation models.In order to understand ocean eddies from the large volume data produced by simulations,visualizing only eddy distribution at each time step is insufficient;time-variations in eddy events and phenomena must also be considered.However,existing methods cannot precisely find and track eddy events such as amalgamation and bifurcation.In this study,we propose an original approach for eddy detection,tracking,and event visualization based on an eddy classification system.The proposed method detects streams and currents as well as eddies,and it classifies discovered eddies into several categories using the additional stream and current information.By tracking how the classified eddies vary over time,detecting events such as eddy amalgamation and bifurcation as well as the interaction between eddies and ocean currents becomes achievable.We adopt the proposed method for two ocean areas in which strong ocean currents exist as case studies.We visualize the detected eddies and events in a time series of images,allowing us to acquire an intuitive understanding of a region of interest concealed in a high-resolution data set.Furthermore,our proposed method succeeded in clarifying the occurrence place and seasonality of each type of eddy event.