Polton Jeff

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Last Name
Polton
First Name
Jeff
ORCID
0000-0003-0131-5250

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Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
  • Article
    Lagrangian ocean analysis : fundamentals and practices
    (Elsevier, 2017-11-24) van Sebille, Erik ; Griffies, Stephen M. ; Abernathey, Ryan ; Adams, Thomas P. ; Berloff, Pavel S. ; Biastoch, Arne ; Blanke, Bruno ; Chassignet, Eric P. ; Cheng, Yu ; Cotter, Colin J. ; Deleersnijder, Eric ; Döös, Kristofer ; Drake, Henri F. ; Drijfhout, Sybren ; Gary, Stefan F. ; Heemink, Arnold W. ; Kjellsson, Joakim ; Koszalka, Inga M. ; Lange, Michael ; Lique, Camille ; MacGilchrist, Graeme ; Marsh, Robert ; Mayorga-Adame, Claudia G. ; McAdam, Ronan ; Nencioli, Francesco ; Paris, Claire B. ; Piggott, Matthew D. ; Polton, Jeff ; Rühs, Siren ; Shah, Syed H.A.M. ; Thomas, Matthew D. ; Wang, Jinbo ; Wolfram, Phillip J. ; Zanna, Laure ; Zika, Jan D.
    Lagrangian analysis is a powerful way to analyse the output of ocean circulation models and other ocean velocity data such as from altimetry. In the Lagrangian approach, large sets of virtual particles are integrated within the three-dimensional, time-evolving velocity fields. Over several decades, a variety of tools and methods for this purpose have emerged. Here, we review the state of the art in the field of Lagrangian analysis of ocean velocity data, starting from a fundamental kinematic framework and with a focus on large-scale open ocean applications. Beyond the use of explicit velocity fields, we consider the influence of unresolved physics and dynamics on particle trajectories. We comprehensively list and discuss the tools currently available for tracking virtual particles. We then showcase some of the innovative applications of trajectory data, and conclude with some open questions and an outlook. The overall goal of this review paper is to reconcile some of the different techniques and methods in Lagrangian ocean analysis, while recognising the rich diversity of codes that have and continue to emerge, and the challenges of the coming age of petascale computing.
  • Article
    SEASTAR: A mission to study ocean submesoscale dynamics and small-scale atmosphere-ocean processes in coastal, shelf and polar seas
    (Frontiers Media, 2019-08-13) Gommenginger, Christine ; Chapron, Bertrand ; Hogg, Andy ; Buckingham, Christian ; Fox-Kemper, Baylor ; Eriksson, Leif ; Soulat, Francois ; Ubelmann, Clement ; Ocampo-Torres, Francisco ; Nardelli, Bruno Buongiorno ; Griffin, David ; Lopez-Dekker, Paco ; Knudsen, Per ; Andersen, Ole ; Stenseng, Lars ; Stapleton, Neil ; Perrie, Will ; Violante-Carvalho, Nelson ; Schulz-Stellenfleth, Johannes ; Woolf, David K. ; Isern-Fontanet, Jordi ; Ardhuin, Fabrice ; Klein, Patrice ; Mouche, Alexis ; Pascual, Ananda ; Capet, Xavier ; Hauser, Daniele ; Stoffelen, Ad ; Morrow, Rosemary ; Aouf, Lotfi ; Breivik, Øyvind ; Fu, Lee-Lueng ; Johannessen, Johnny A. ; Aksenov, Yevgeny ; Bricheno, Lucy ; Hirschi, Joel ; Martin, Adrien C. H. ; Martin, Adrian P. ; Nurser, A. J. George ; Polton, Jeff ; Wolf, Judith ; Johnsen, Harald ; Soloviev, Alexander ; Jacobs, Gregg A. ; Collard, Fabrice ; Groom, Steve ; Kudryavtsev, Vladimir ; Wilkin, John L. ; Navarro, Victor ; Babanin, Alexander ; Martin, Matthew ; Siddorn, John ; Saulter, Andrew ; Rippeth, Tom P. ; Emery, Bill ; Maximenko, Nikolai ; Romeiser, Roland ; Graber, Hans C. ; Alvera Azcarate, Aida ; Hughes, Chris W. ; Vandemark, Douglas ; da Silva, Jose ; Van Leeuwen, Peter Jan ; Naveira Garabato, Alberto C. ; Gemmrich, Johannes ; Mahadevan, Amala ; Marquez, Jose ; Munro, Yvonne ; Doody, Sam ; Burbidge, Geoff
    High-resolution satellite images of ocean color and sea surface temperature reveal an abundance of ocean fronts, vortices and filaments at scales below 10 km but measurements of ocean surface dynamics at these scales are rare. There is increasing recognition of the role played by small scale ocean processes in ocean-atmosphere coupling, upper-ocean mixing and ocean vertical transports, with advanced numerical models and in situ observations highlighting fundamental changes in dynamics when scales reach 1 km. Numerous scientific publications highlight the global impact of small oceanic scales on marine ecosystems, operational forecasts and long-term climate projections through strong ageostrophic circulations, large vertical ocean velocities and mixed layer re-stratification. Small-scale processes particularly dominate in coastal, shelf and polar seas where they mediate important exchanges between land, ocean, atmosphere and the cryosphere, e.g., freshwater, pollutants. As numerical models continue to evolve toward finer spatial resolution and increasingly complex coupled atmosphere-wave-ice-ocean systems, modern observing capability lags behind, unable to deliver the high-resolution synoptic measurements of total currents, wind vectors and waves needed to advance understanding, develop better parameterizations and improve model validations, forecasts and projections. SEASTAR is a satellite mission concept that proposes to directly address this critical observational gap with synoptic two-dimensional imaging of total ocean surface current vectors and wind vectors at 1 km resolution and coincident directional wave spectra. Based on major recent advances in squinted along-track Synthetic Aperture Radar interferometry, SEASTAR is an innovative, mature concept with unique demonstrated capabilities, seeking to proceed toward spaceborne implementation within Europe and beyond.
  • Article
    Using shelf‐edge transport composition and sensitivity experiments to understand processes driving sea level on the Northwest European Shelf
    (American Geophysical Union, 2024-05-09) Wise, Anthony ; Calafat, Francisco M. ; Hughes, Chris W. ; Jevrejeva, Svetlana ; Katsman, Caroline A. ; Oelsmann, Julius ; Piecuch, Christopher G. ; Polton, Jeff ; Richter, Kristin
    Variability in ocean currents, temperature and salinity drive dynamic sea level (DSL) variability on the Northwest European Shelf (NWES). It is dominated by mass variations, with steric signals relatively small. A mechanistic explanation of how ocean dynamics relates to the mass component of NWES sea level variability is required. We use regional ocean model experiments to isolate sources of variability and then investigate the effect on monthly to-interannual DSL variability together with the simulated momentum budgets along the shelfbreak. Regional (local) wind and non-regional (remote) forcing are important on the NWES. For the local wind forcing, the net mass flux onto the shelf, which drives a shelf-mean mode of DSL variability, results from a combination of surface Ekman, bottom Ekman and geostrophic flows and explains 73% of the variance in transport across the shelf-edge. The geostrophic flow is closely related to wind stress with a flow about half that of surface Ekman transport but in the opposite direction. For the remotely forced mass-flux across the shelf-edge, the geostrophic component explains 62% of the variance and bottom friction plays an important indirect role. The remotely forced variability, while relatively spatially uniform, is more important for explaining DSL variance over the western NWES. This mode of variability is sensitive to signals propagating northward via a thin strip of the southern boundary near the Portuguese coast, consistent with coastal trapped wave signals. It also appears to drive steric height in the Bay of Biscay, which is related to DSL on the shelf.