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On the Lagrangian and Eulerian velocity PDFs in the North Atlantic
J. H. LaCasce
Norwegian Meteorological Institute
jlacasce@met.no(Abstract received 05/02/2005 for session A)
ABSTRACT
We calculate velocity probability density functions (PDFs) using data from subsurface current meters in the western North Atlantic. The PDFs are weakly, but significantly, non-Gaussian. They deviate from normality due to an excess of energetic events, and there are evidently more such events in the main thermocline than in the deep ocean. We also compare the PDFs to those obtained from subsurface floats in the same region. The PDFs are statistically indistinguishable so long as the float data is averaged in appropriately-sized bins. Taking too small bins yields overly Gaussian float PDFs and too large bins yields too non-Gaussian PDFs. With this caveat, the Lagrangian and Eulerian PDFs agree, consistent with expectations from theory and previous numerical simulations.
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2005 LAPCOD Meeting, Lerici, Italy, June 13-17, 2005