Statistical methods such as empirical orthogonal functions (EOFs) are often used to model the sound speed profile (SSP). However, their statistical nature often leads to the sample dependence and physical fuzziness.
This study proposes a technique for modeling the SSP from the perspective of ocean dynamics. It employs the ocean normal mode, which is the mode of fluid particles motion, to deduce perturbations in the SSP, which is called the ocean mode basis (OMB).
The results of SSP reconstruction of in-situ samples showed that a few leading orders of the OMB can provide a compact representation of the SSP. Oscillations of the contours and gradient of the sound speed in thermocline were analyzed by using the first two orders of the projection coefficients of the relationship between the OMB and the baroclinic mode. As a physical model, this technique can also be used to characterize the dynamics of internal solitary waves. Furthermore, the OMB derived from archival date was used for SSP inversion. The results showed that the OMB can reconstruct SSP of a reasonable resolution without requiring in-situ samples.
Compared with statistical models, the OMB can better explain the ocean dynamics underlying variations in the SSP while requiring fewer samples.