ABSTRACT
General ocean circulation is typically modeled in Eulerian coordinates. Eulerian coordinates give a view of the ocean from fixed points in space, for example from the perspective of moorings attached to the ocean floor. Recent advances in satellite technology have allowed ocean data be collected remotely, thus it is possible to retrieve information about the ocean from instruments floating or drifting in the water. Data collected from floats or drifters give information about the ocean from a Lagrangian perspective. To better understand general ocean circulation in a Lagrangian reference frame I will derive, analyze and illustrate solutions of the shallow water equations in Lagrangian coordinates.