Path-integrated Lagrangian measures from the velocity gradient tensor

Abstract. Spatial maps of the finite-time Lyapunov exponent (FTLE) have been used extensively to study LCS in two-dimensional dynamical systems, in particular with application to transport in unsteady fluid flows. We use the time-periodic double-gyre model to compare spatial fields of FTLE and the path-integrated Eulerian Okubo–Weiss parameter (OW). Both fields correlate strongly, and by solving the dynamics of the deformation gradient tensor, a theoretical relationship between both magnitudes has been obtained. While for long integration times more and more FTLE ridges appear that do not seem to coincide with the stable manifold, ridges in the field of path-integrated OW represent fewer additional structures.