DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17409704
title: Eddy Catalog for the Gulf of California (2010–2024) Derived from Hybrid Detection and Tracking Algorithm.

description: Dataset scope. This repository provides the complete mesoscale eddy catalog for the Gulf of California (2010–2024), including daily detection maps and a temporal tracking catalog. The workflow was developed during the PhD research of Yuritzy Pérez-Corona (CICESE).

Preprocessing. Daily 2-D spatial detrending was applied to each anomaly field (e.g., SSHA, strain, vorticity) by fitting an affine plane A⋅lon+B⋅lat+CA \cdot \mathrm{lon} + B \cdot \mathrm{lat} + CA⋅lon+B⋅lat+C over valid grid points and subtracting it:





Inputs: anomalias_GC_NeurOST_2010_2024.nc




Outputs per variable: *_dtrend2d on the same (time, lat, lon) grid




This step removes large-scale linear gradients prior to eddy extraction.



Detection method (hybrid, OW + velocity geometry + contours).





Normalized Okubo–Weiss (OW)  thresholding (Okubo, 1970; Weiss, 1991) computed from (S_n, S_s, ζ) on detrended fields; conservative dynamic thresholding identifies compact candidates.




Local speed minimum gating to suppress jets and background flow.




Nencioli ring criterion (Nencioli et al., 2010) enforcing tangential dominance and consistent rotation sign around candidates.




Closed-contour selection (Chelton et al., 2011) on SSHA, retaining polygons with sufficient circularity, amplitude relative to the edge, and bounded size.



Tracking. Daily detections are linked with a cost-based inertial matching algorithm that prioritizes great-circle proximity to the predicted position, penalizes unrealistic diameter changes, preserves polarity, and tolerates gaps up to 10 days. We also provide a filtered subset retaining tracks with ≥ 14 detections.



Files included





eddy_detections_hybrid_GoC_2010_2024.nc — Daily eddy detections from detrended anomalies (*_dtrend2d): centroid, diameter/axes/eccentricity, polarity, vorticity, geostrophic velocities, OW, and SSHA-based masks/fields on (time, lat, lon).




tracks_catalog_full.nc — Full trajectory catalog (971 tracks; includes short-lived features); flat table indexed by (track_id, time).




tracks_catalog_full.csv — CSV mirror of the full catalog.




tracks_catalog_min14d.nc — Filtered catalog (394 coherent tracks, ≥14 detections; mean ≈ 46 days).




tracks_catalog_min14d.csv — CSV mirror of the filtered subset.





Summary statistics





Full: 971 tracks; mean lifetime 21.4 days; detections — Cyclonic 10,667, Anticyclonic 10,121.




Filtered (≥14 detections): 394 tracks; mean lifetime 46.0 days; detections — Cyclonic 9,274, Anticyclonic 8,850.





Data format & units





Coordinates: longitude (°E), latitude (°N); daily time step (2010–2024).




Distances: km; velocities: km/day; vorticity: s⁻¹; Okubo–Weiss: s⁻².




NetCDFs follow CF-conventions where applicable; CSVs are tidy tables.





Citation

Pérez-Corona, Y., Torres, H., & Ramos-Musalem, K. (2025).Eddy Catalog for the Gulf of California (2010–2024) Derived from a Hybrid Detection and Tracking Algorithm.Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17409704

Keywords: Gulf of California; Mesoscale eddies; Altimetry.



References

- Okubo, A. (1970). *Horizontal dispersion of floatable particles in the vicinity of velocity singularities.* Deep-Sea Research, 17(3), 445–454.  - Weiss, J. (1991). *The dynamics of enstrophy transfer in two-dimensional hydrodynamics.* Physica D, 48, 273–294.  - Nencioli, F., Dong, C., Dickey, T., Washburn, L., & McWilliams, J. C. (2010). *A vector geometry-based eddy detection algorithm and its application to a high-resolution numerical model product and high-frequency radar surface velocities in the Southern California Bight.* J. Atmos. Ocean. Technol., 27(3), 564–579.  - Chelton, D. B., Schlax, M. G., & Samelson, R. M. (2011). *Global observations of nonlinear mesoscale eddies.* Progress in Oceanography, 91(2), 167–216.