Applications of mathematics to maritime search

The issue of searching missing aircraft is valuable after the event of MH370. This paper provides a global optimal model to foster the efficiency of maritime search. Firstly, the limited scope, a circle whose center is the last known position of the aircraft, should be estimated based on the historical data recorded before the disappearance of the aircraft. And Bayes' theorem is applied to calculate the probability that the plane falling in the region can be found. Secondly, the drift of aircraft debris under the influence of wind and current is considered via Finite Volume Community Ocean Model(FVCOM) and Monte Carlo Method(MC), which make the theory more reasonable. Finally, a global optimal model about vessel and aircraft quantitative constraints is established, which fully considers factors including the area of sea region to be searched, the maximum speed, search capabilities, initial distance of the vessels by introducing 0-1 decision variables.