A field experiment study of flow transport around a coral reef was conducted at Scott Reef, an offshore atoll in the Timor Sea. A drifter deployment was designed based on the insight derived from two Lagrangian data analysis approaches, the finite-time Lyapunov exponent method and the optimized-parameter spectral clustering method, which were used to analyze the predictions of a numerical model. This analysis predicted the formation of a key transport barrier during a critical time of the tidal cycle that separated two bodies of water, one remaining trapped within the lagoon, and one advected offshore; this transport structure had no clear signature upon inspection of the velocity fields and thus the use of Lagrangian methods was crucial. The observed drifter trajectories confirmed the predictions, with the drifters separating into two clusters, one on each side of the transport barrier. The results demonstrate how Lagrangian approaches elucidate the processes governing connectivity and water exchanges between atolls and the surrounding ocean.

中文翻译：

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使用拉格朗日相干结构研究潮汐驱动的珊瑚环礁流中的运输

在帝汶海的一个近海环礁斯科特礁进行了一项关于珊瑚礁周围流动运输的实地实验研究。基于两种拉格朗日数据分析方法（有限时间李雅普诺夫指数方法和优化参数谱聚类方法）的洞察力设计了漂流器部署，这些方法用于分析数值模型的预测。这项分析预测了在潮汐循环的关键时期形成了一个关键的运输屏障，它将两个水体分开，一个仍然被困在泻湖内，一个在离岸平流；在检查速度场时，这种传输结构没有明确的特征，因此使用拉格朗日方法至关重要。观察到的漂流者轨迹证实了预测，漂流者分成两个集群，在运输屏障的每一侧都有一个。结果表明拉格朗日方法如何阐明控制环礁与周围海洋之间的连通性和水交换的过程。