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Mesoscale three-dimensional Lagrangian Coherent Structures

By João Bettencourt, Cristóbal López, and Emilio Hernández-García
Talk presented in the 2nd International Workshop on "Nonlinear Processes in Oceanic and Atmospheric Flows",Madrid 2012

We study three dimensional oceanic Lagrangian Coherent Structures (LCSs) in the Benguela region, as obtained from an output from the ROMS model. To this end we first compute Finite-Size Lyapunov exponent (FSLE) fields in the region volume, characterizing mesoscale stirring and mixing there. LCSs are extracted as ridges of the calculated FSLE fields. They present a "curtain-like" geometry in which the strongest attracting and repelling structures appear as quasivertical surfaces. LCSs around a particular cyclonic eddy, pinched off from the upwelling front are also calculated. The LCSs are confirmed to provide pathways and barriers to transport in and out of the eddy.