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Surface CUrrents from Diagnostic model


The goal of the project is to diagnose near-surface currents consistent with trajectories of Lagrangian drifters using satellite observations.


Overview:
Ocean currents are one of the variables that are most difficult for observations, both in situ and remote. Only satellites can provide global coverage continuous in time.   Satellite-derived sea level topography and surface winds are utilized to optimize coefficients of the SCUD diagnostic model.  The coefficients are tuned to best reproduce current velocities observed by standard drifters drogued at 15 meters depth.  The dataset aims the tasks of diagnosing trajectories of a tracer floating at or near the sea surface, such as marine debris, oil spills, etc.

The SCUD surface ocean currents are disseminated through APDRC servers:
                     LAS         LAS8          OPeNDAP          DChart
   
More detailed information about the data and the model can be found in the SCUD manual (IPRC Tech. Note 5).

To be informed about future data upgrades and model developments you can subscribe to the SCUD mailing list here.