edu.ucar.opensky::articles:25117 UCAR/NCAR - Library OpenSky Support PO Box 3000 Boulder CO 80307-3000 opensky@ucar.edu http://opensky.ucar.edu/ homepage pointOfContact 2025-12-24T23:01:41.433443 ISO 19115-2 Geographic Information - Metadata - Part 2: Extensions for Imagery and Gridded Data ISO 19115-2:2009(E) https://n2t.org/ark:/85065/d7rr22sf https://doi.org/10.5067/SLREF-CDRV2 https Related Dataset #1 MEaSUREs Gridded Sea Surface Height Anomalies Version 1812 An Eulerian scheme for identifying fronts and vortices in quasi-balanced flows 2021-10-01T00:00:00Z publication https://n2t.org/ark:/85065/d7rr22sf https://doi.org/10.1175/JPO-D-21-0037.1 Bachman, Scott author UCAR/NCAR - Library publisher The identification of vortices in a fluid flow is a dynamically interesting problem that has practical applications in oceanography due to the outsized role eddies play in water mass, heat, and tracer transport. Here a new Eulerian scheme is developed to detect both vortices and strongly strained fronts, which are both ubiquitous in the World Ocean. The new scheme is conceptually linked to the well-known Okubo-Weiss parameter, but is extended to quasigeostrophic flows by recognizing the strong role played by vertical shear in ocean dynamics. Adapted from the lambda(2) criterion for vortex identification, the scheme considers the curvature of the pressure field as the differentiator between vortical and strained flow structures, and it is shown that its underlying geometry also exhibits characteristics of quasigeostrophic flow. The uses and skill of the scheme are demonstrated using a high-resolution regional ocean simulation, and prospects for its use with observational products are discussed. UCAR/NCAR - Library OpenSky Support PO Box 3000 Boulder CO 80307-3000 opensky@ucar.edu http://opensky.ucar.edu/ homepage pointOfContact PDF Text theme Resource Type 2016-01-01T00:00:00Z publication Copyright 2021 American Meteorological Society (AMS). None eng geoscientificInformation