This research has shown that it is possible to estimate ocean currents more accurately when using autonomous underwater glider observations of ocean temperature and salinity in conjunction with numerical ocean current models. This allows offshore activities to be more safely carried out, since currents can transport pollutants or disrupt operations in unpredictable ways. Using only models is not as reliable as using a merged result of observations and models, which can be done in near real time.

Nan-Wan Bay in Taiwan and the Gulf of Elat in Israel are two different coastal environments, and as such, their currents are expected to have different statistical properties. We find that in spite of these differences, the statistical properties of the surface currents are similar in both basins. Still, surface currents are temporally asymmetric in Nan-Wan but not in Elat; we attribute this difference to the strong tides that exist in Nan-Wan but not in Elat.