Probability distributions of statistical characteristics of mesoscale eddies in the global ocean

ABSTRACTThree independent global observations of nonlinear mesoscale eddy datasets derived from satellite altimeter are analysed to investigate the statistical characteristics of mesoscale eddies. Histograms of amplitude, radius, rotation speed, and Rossby number of mesoscale eddy in the global ocean were fitted by four probability density functions called normal, Rayleigh, gamma, and lognormal distribution. The histograms of these characteristics were best approximated by the lognormal distribution, regardless of the choice of eddy datasets. Further comparison studies between eddies of several large ocean basins and eddy-active regions showed that the lognormal distribution performed better in eddy-active regions. This study improves the understanding of eddy characteristics distributions, and may provide a basis for eddy parameterization in the numerical model.