Abstract Using two dimensional continuous wavelet transforms, a novel method for identification of mesoscale eddies is presented to facilitate extraction of characteristics for area, amplitude, type, and location from maps of sea level anomalies. In comparison with the previously established growing method for eddy identification, it is found that the wavelet method identifies more than twice the number of eddies and is particularly better at resolving small eddies down to the 0.25 degree resolution of the data. Such research into eddy identification and tracking is significant to the assessment of eddies with potential to impact on coastlines of small islands. The method is applied to the identification of eddies on tracks towards islands of the Eastern Caribbean over 23 years. Spatial and temporal variation in rate of occurrence and magnitude is established. For Barbados there is an average of 9 anticyclonic incidents a year with maximum amplitude of typically 0.22 m in the dry seasons and 0.16 m in the wet seasons. Seasonal variation is reversed for the other islands with twice the number of anticyclonic incidents having maximum amplitudes of about 0.20 m annually.

中文翻译：

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一种新的小波方法识别东加勒比岛屿上的涡流和评估事件

摘要 利用二维连续小波变换，提出了一种识别中尺度涡旋的新方法，以方便从海平面异常图中提取面积、幅度、类型和位置的特征。与之前建立的涡旋识别增长方法相比，发现小波法识别的涡旋数量是原来的两倍多，尤其在解析小涡旋的数据分辨率为0.25度方面表现得尤为出色。这种涡流识别和跟踪研究对于评估可能对小岛海岸线产生影响的涡流具有重要意义。该方法用于识别 23 年来通往东加勒比海岛屿的轨道上的涡流。确定发生率和幅度的时空变化。对于巴巴多斯，平均每年发生 9 次反气旋事件，最大振幅通常在旱季为 0.22 m，在雨季为 0.16 m。其他岛屿的季节性变化是相反的，每年最大振幅约为 0.20 m 的反气旋事件数量是其两倍。