By choosing Velocity Overlay from the Other menu, a GUI pops up that allows the user to display the velocity at the given depth and timestep as arrows. The user can alter the color, spacing, and scale of the arrows.

Example 3.1. Horizontal Velocity in Adriatic

This example shows the velocity control settings and results for a model run in the Adriatic Sea.

One of the more interesting things about rslice is the ability to vertically slice the current dataset along an arbitrary curve. After choosing Vslice from the Other menu, one defines a set of control points for a splined curve across the surface of the current dataset. At least two points are required. The last point is specified with a right-click. A new window will then pop up which depicts the data along that slice line.

Example 3.2. Temperature Vslice off Eastern Seaboard

In this example, a vslice line of a temperature dataset is defined by starting in the Gulf of Mexico and terminating off of Halifax. The warm core eddies can clearly be seen in the vertical slice figure.

Vslice Velocity is a specialized case of Vslice which presents the user with displays of velocity which is tangential and normal to the vertical slice line. It must be understood that tangential velocity is defined to be the component of the velocity in the direction of the vertical slice line. This means that the order of the control points defining the vertical slice line matters as to the orientation of the slice line. The normal velocity is defined as the component of the velocity perpendicular to the tangential velocity in a right hand coordinate system.

Example 3.3. Vslice Velocity off New Jersey, LaTTE Grid

In this example, a vslice line of velocity is defined by starting in the Delaware River, extending out into the bay, and hooking around Cape May. Note that the current dataset of v shows strong flow along the beginning of the slice line, but reverses direction towards the end of the line.

The Zoom and Zoom Back menu items are self-explanatory.