Data Collection & Interpretation
Observational data and synthesis of that data play an essential role in understanding and predicting circulation processes in surface water bodies. The data alone describe the existing conditions and provide information and insight into the driving mechanisms. They are also an essential component since they provide initial and boundary conditions for model computation. At HydroQual, state-of-the-art computer software is routinely used for the reduction and statistical analysis of observed currents, winds, waves, water levels, bathymetry, salinity, temperature and density structure. Computer generated displays of the data are routinely used as an aid in processes identification, interpretation, and synthesis of the data. Objective analysis schemes are available for mapping coarsely distributed, both in space and time, data onto computational grids. These schemes are also used to derive long-term climatological averages from often sparsely sampled geographical regions.