Direct prediction for oceanic mesoscale eddy geospatial distribution through prior statistical deep learning

Mesoscale Eddy (ME) is a widely recognized and significant oceanic phenomenon characterized by extensive energy exchange. Accurate predictions of the future geospatial distribution of ME are crucial for maritime activities. Deep learning (DL) methods for ME prediction have consistently outperformed classical mathematical models and numerical modeling approaches. However, current DL methods based on two-dimensional graphic data suffer from error accumulation issues due to their indirect prediction approach, which involves first predicting the future environmental field and then identifying the ME patterns within it. Additionally, these models ignore the potential influence of prior knowledge related to ME on prediction outcomes. To address these issues, this paper proposes a direct prediction DL network called ES-ConvGRU, which incorporates historical prior statistics. First, we conduct an analysis of ME data from the Northwest Pacific region, extracting prior statistical knowledge such as interannual variations and seasonal characteristics. Second, mining patterns for the spatiotemporal features of both ME sequence and sea surface environmental field sequence are established. Furthermore, a nonlinear approach for mapping prior statistical knowledge and a multi-step autoregressive prediction model are designed, facilitating the integration of prior knowledge with multidimensional spatiotemporal features for ME prediction. Finally, the performance and effectiveness of ES-ConvGRU are evaluated. It achieves an average pixel accuracy of 93.21%, a mean intersection over union of 81.48%, and a frequency-weighted intersection over union of 87.55% for the 7-day distribution prediction. The results show that ES-ConvGRU exhibits notable advantages compared to the existing indirect and direct prediction methods.