How can ocean currents help with finding a missing plane? (April, 2014)

After the disappearance of Malaysian Airlines flight 370 there was an immediate search to try to find the plane.   When satellite images showed that debris was found at multiple locations in the Southern Ocean, over a thousand miles from the southwest coast of Australia, many questions arose about how to track such debris.  Where did it come from? Where is it going? To aid in the quandary of debris movement, ocean currents were used.  Ocean Surface Current Analyses Real-time (OSCAR), generated by Dr.

Data in Action: How can ocean currents help with finding a missing plane?

After the disappearance of Malaysian Airlines flight 370 there was an immediate search to try to find the plane.   When satellite images showed that debris was found at multiple locations in the Southern Ocean, over a thousand miles from the southwest coast of Australia, many questions arose about how to track such debris.  Where did it come from? Where is it going? To aid in the quandary of debris movement, ocean currents were used.  Ocean Surface Current Analyses Real-time (OSCAR), generated by Dr.

New-and-improved beta version 2-D State of the Ocean Visualization Tool (SOTO)

It provides near real-time data layers (vector and image) that are visualized in an HTML5 interface utilizing open-source tools such as Leaflet.js. SOTO 2D data layers are annotated to give contextual descriptions of the ocean's features and events, and kml overlays (ice extent, hurricane tracks, clouds).

In this early stage of release, we recommend using Google Chrome. The fast rendering capabilities make the experience that much better.

Sea Surface Temperature in the Eastern Pacific

This visualization from 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2013 shows sea surface temperatures (SST) in the Eastern Pacific near Central America at 1-kilometer (~0.6 mile) resolution. Cold SSTs are clearly visible off the Central American coast from October to March. Such cooling events are associated with accelerated winds that blow through gaps in the mountainous terrain of Central America.

Sea Surface Temperature and the Agulhas Current

This visualization from 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2013 shows sea surface temperatures (SST) associated with the Agulhas Current near South Africa at 1-kilometer (~0.6 mile) resolution. The Agulhas Current is a western boundary current that transports warm water southward in the Indian Ocean along the west coast of Africa. Near South Africa the current retroflects (or turns back on itself), called the Agulhas Retroflection, due to interactions with the Antarctic Circumpolar Current.

Pages