ASA's CJ Beegle-Krause was interviewed by the New York Times for an interesting article about Lagrangian coherent structures. She also brought in Search and Rescue expert Art Allen of the U.S. Coast Guard to contribute to the story. Very interesting piece on front page of the New York Times Science section:
Finding Order in the Apparent Chaos of Currents
Suppose a blob of dioxin-rich pesticide is spilled into Monterey Bay. It might quickly disperse to the Pacific Ocean. But hours later, a spill of the same size at the same spot could circle near the coastline, posing a greater danger to marine life. The briny surface waters of the bay churn so chaotically that a slight shift in the place or time an oil drop, a buoy — or even a person — falls in can dictate whether it is swept out to the open ocean or swirls near the shore.
But the results are not unpredictable. A team of scientists... [read the full article in NYT.com]
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/29/science/29chaos.html?_r=1&ref=science
