This project is an application of modern Bayesian hierarchical methods of statistical analysis to the problem of ocean state estimation. The goal is to use this statistical technique to combine hydrographic data, dynamical constraints, and knowledge about the uncertainties in both observations and dynamical assumptions, to arrive at: (a) slowly varying maps of oceanic property fields on a selection of isopycnals in the North Atlantic, (b) an estimate of the probability distribution function for possible states of the North Atlantic circulation consistent with the available data. The project unites statisticians and ocean scientists and provides training in interdisciplinary research for a graduate student and two post-doctoral researchers.
