Satellite derived estimates of the normal and tangential components of near-surface flow

Abstract

The determination of both the normal and tangential components of the total velocity is important in the study of cross- and along-isopycnal transport processes in the ocean. A pattern-matching method is used to determine objectively the total velocity. Sensitivity of this method to pattern and search tile sizes and to correlation threshold also is examined. Three methods for estimating the cross-isopycnal or normal component of the total flow are compared and discussed: Marr-Ullman, optical flow and minimum norm. It is also shown that optical flow and minimum norm are equivalent when the parameter a in the optical flow formulation is set to zero. The direct computation of the tangential component is not possible because it lies in the null-space of the solution set of the basic constraint equations used in velocity estimation methods which are based on the rate of change of image brightness (or temperature). A new method for indirectly estimating the tangential component of the total flow based on vector subtracting of the total flow and the normal component of flow is introduced. Several sequences of satellite images are analysed and the resulting total flow, normal component of flow, and the tangential component determined using this new method are consistent with motion inferred from edge maps. Recommendations are then made for the best normal component of flow to use in the determination of the tangential component.