SBC LTER: Ocean: HFR-derived surface flow metrics, surface water retention times, and related factors in the Santa Barbara Channel (2012-2019)

This data package include three files: 1. daily maps of High-Frequency Radar (HFR) measured surface currents, indices of mesoscale eddy locations, and local retention times on a 2km grid; 2. monthly time series of wind stress, alongshore pressure gradient, surface current EOF principal components, vorticity, eddy area, eddy presence, and spatially averaged retention times from January 2012 to December 2019; 3. A MATLAB script for plotting the maps and timeseries. These data were processed in order to investigate the drivers of surface water retention in the Santa Barbara Channel, CA, details of which are available in the study: Brokaw, R.J., D.A. Siegel, and L. Washburn. Physical Drivers of Surface Water Retention in the Santa Barbara Channel. [In preparation for Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans.]