École Nationale Supérieure de
Techniques Avancées

Abstract

In the first part, results from various models are extracted and adapted in order to allow comparisons with OGS data. Characteristics of the main tidal constituants are processed to obtain a grid of lesser resolution. Thanks to this, comparisons between those data and in-situ drifters measurements will be possible. In the second part, 140 hours of drifter data are analysed to determine the effect of wind on drifter slippage and shear. After the exclusion of possible direct wave effects on the drifters,fits suggests an increase of the shear with the wind. It appears the slip during deployments on short time-lengths (e.g. a day) is not due to the wind (the increase is proportionnal with a factor of 10−4) but to the shear, as it increases as the third of the shear. Overall, the CODE drifter seems to be a good drifter, following the currents almost of the time (95 %) within 7 cm/s, independantly of wind and wave conditions.