Jackie Kirchhoff: Visualization of Divergence and Vorticity of Ocean Currents in Monterey Bay

The divergence and vorticity (also known as the curl) of currents respectively describe the change in volume and the rotation of currents. In order to better understand the relationship between weather patterns and ocean currents in Monterey Bay, the divergence and vorticity of the currents were calculated and visualized. The data which was used was provided by the University of California Santa Cruz HF Radar lab. It was recorded once every hour from March 1, 2004 through June 30, 2004 at 328 different locations in Monterey Bay. Due to missing data, ocean currents from only 201 locations were used. Figure 1 in the poster shows the 328 locations, with the filled circles representing the 201 selected locations. The ocean current data had been run through a 33-hour filter to eliminate the effects of the tides and the sea breezes on the ocean currents.