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Updated: Sep 15, 2026

High-speed Particle Image Velocimetry Near Surfaces
Published on: June 24, 2013
Statistics of velocity gradients in two-dimensional Navier-Stokes and ocean turbulence
Norbert Schorghofer1, Sarah T Gille
1Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
Abstract:
Probability density functions and conditional averages of velocity gradients derived from upper ocean observations are compared with results from forced simulations of the two-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations. Ocean data are derived from TOPEX satellite altimeter measurements. The simulations use rapid forcing on large scales, characteristic of surface winds. The probability distributions of transverse velocity derivatives from the ocean observations agree with the forced simulations, although they differ from unforced simulations reported elsewhere. The distribution and cross correlation of velocity derivatives provide clear evidence that large coherent eddies play only a minor role in generating the observed statistics.
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