Development of a synoptic approach for monitoring oceanic circulation

A concept of a synoptic approach is to anatomize oceanic circulation pattern as composed of typical elements such as fronts and eddies. Developing this concept, a method is proposed for synthesis of a streamfunction representation of sea surface flow with the use of normalized models of those fronts and eddies recognized on satellite infrared (IR) imagery. Substantial benefits of the synoptic approach stem from: (1) filling gaps in data by estimating only few model parameters, (2) adjusting the flow field´s representation with regard to positions of fronts and eddies (as revealed by their signatures on satellite images), and (3) estimating perplexing variables such as vorticity and diagnosing depth hydrology characteristics from unbiased collection of available local current velocity or sea surface dynamic topography measurements. These benefits are illustrated by two examples