Stretching fields and lines in the transport dynamics of the Western Mediterranean

Abstract

We summarize recent work on the location of Lagrangian structures in velocity fields obtained from realistic simulations and from satellite altimetry of the surface layers of the Mediterranean sea. Finite‐size Lyapunov exponents are found to be useful quantities to characterize stretching and compressing structures, and their implications for mixing. Direct calculation of hyperbolic points and their stable and unstable manifolds identifies ocean structures, and allows the use of the tools of lobe dynamics to characterize fluid transport. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)