%0 Journal Article
%T Detecting barriers to transport: A review of different techniques
%A G. Boffetta
%A G. Lacorata
%A G. Redaelli
%A A. Vulpiani
%J Physics
%D 2001
%I arXiv
%R 10.1016/S0167-2789(01)00330-X
%X We review and discuss some different techniques for describing local dispersion properties in fluids. A recent Lagrangian diagnostics, based on the Finite Scale Lyapunov Exponent (FSLE), is presented and compared to the Finite Time Lyapunov Exponent (FTLE), and to the Okubo-Weiss (OW) and Hua-Klein (HK) criteria. We show that the OW and HK are a limiting case of the FTLE, and that the FSLE is the most efficient method for detecting the presence of cross-stream barriers. We illustrate our findings by considering two examples of geophysical interest: a kinematic meandering jet model, and Lagrangian tracers advected by stratospheric circulation.
%U http://arxiv.org/abs/nlin/0102022v1