Figure 8. Zones comprising different regions according to the effect of wind on particle clustering. Red indicates zones with the largest particle confluence without the influence of wind (Region I). Similarly, green denotes the zones with the largest confluence with 1% wind (Region II) and blue with 2% wind (Region III). Time series represent particle density (number of particles per unit area) of the three Lagrangian experiments derived from HYCOM and SOM patterns as a function of release month (lower abscissa, HYCOM) and SOM pattern (upper abscissa, SOMs). The left ordinate axis is particle density for HYCOM, and the right is particle density for SOMs. The variation in the y-axes is attributed to the difference in the temporal occurrence velocity fields used in the Lagrangian experiments. The current velocity fields obtained from HYCOM climatology have a daily occurrence, whereas the velocity fields generated by SOMs are semi-stationary, with a pattern’s duration determined by the BMUs. The annual accumulated particle density, regarding the released month or pattern, refers to the number of steps taken by the particles within each area during a year. Acronyms indicate (Z) zone identifier number, (*) HYCOM climatology, and (o) SOMs Patterns.
Table 1. Lagrangian experiment results for each zone within the Caribbean basin. Colors indicate the area according to the wind effect (Figure 8); % is the particle percentage that arrives at each zone based on the total number of particles released, H YCOM climatology, and SOMs P atterns. Percentage values inbold indicate the zones with the largest confluence according to windage.