Abstract:

This dataset modeled the Lagrangian processes, which presents that illustrating the physical interactions across mesoscale and submesoscale flows focusing on the Gulf of Mexico during the period of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon blow-out using LTRANS v2b numerical model based on 1-km ROMS simulation. There are three jobs performed here. The first case is Lagrangian tracers released at the near-bottom layer of Deepwater Horizon and were tracked for 20 days [chaos_deepWaterHorizon_tracer5202.nc]. The second case shows 20-day trajectories of tracers deployed at the surface in winter (February) and summer (August) [chaos_feb2015_tracer1681.nc and chaos_aug2015_tracer1681.nc.nc]. The third case has two sets of data, including 1-km resolution and 5-km resolution. This case illustrates that tracers released at different depths (5m, 50 m and 100 m) and in different months (February, May, August and November) and tracked for about 30-40 days. This dataset supports the publication: Bracco, A., Liu, G., & Sun, D. (2019). Mesoscale-submesoscale interactions in the Gulf of Mexico: From oil dispersion to climate. Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, 119, 63–72. doi:10.1016/j.chaos.2018.12.012

Suggested Citation:

Guangpeng Liu. 2019. Dataset for: Mesoscale-submesoscale interactions in the Gulf of Mexico: From oil dispersion to climate. Distributed by: GRIIDC, Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. doi:10.7266/n7-3htq-zr66

Publications:

Bracco, A., Liu, G., & Sun, D. (2019). Mesoscale-submesoscale interactions in the Gulf of Mexico: From oil dispersion to climate. Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, 119, 63–72. doi:10.1016/j.chaos.2018.12.012

Purpose:

The Lagrangian runs are designed to investigate the interaction between mesoscale and submesoscale dynamics in the Gulf of Mexico. Specifically, the role of submesoscale and mesoscale structures in modulating the horizontal and vertical transport of Lagrangian tracers near and across the mixed layer is explored.

Data Parameters and Units:

The data are LTRANS NetCDF files and includes the following parameters: Model_time [time that has passed thus far in the model, seconds]; dob [data of birth of particles in seconds from model start, seconds]; age [age of particles, second]; lon [longitude of particles, decimal degree E]; lat [latitude of particles, decimal degree N]; depth [depth of particles, meters below surface]; color [identification number for particle behavior or status, nondimensional; see LTRANS user guide].

Methods:

Simulations were performed using the Larval TRANSport Lagrangian model (LTRANS v.2b), which is an off-line particle-tracking model that runs with the stored predictions of a 3D hydrodynamic model (specifically the ROMS output). For more details, please refer to North et al. 2011 and AGU book series; Liu et al. 2011.

Provenance and Historical References:

North, E. W., Adams, E. E., Schlag, Z., Sherwood, C. R., He, R., Hyun, K. H., & Socolofsky, S. A. (2011). Simulating Oil Droplet Dispersal From the Deepwater Horizon Spill With a Lagrangian Approach. Geophysical Monograph Series, 217–226. doi:10.1029/2011gm001102 Liu, Y., MacFadyen, A., Ji, Z.-G., & Weisberg, R. H. (Eds.). (2011). Monitoring and Modeling the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: A Record-Breaking Enterprise. Geophysical Monograph Series. doi:10.1029/gm195

Individual Files: