Networks from Flows - From Dynamics to Topology

Nora Molkenthin*, Kira Rehfeld, Norbert Marwan, Juergen Kurths

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

42 Citations (Scopus)
8 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Complex network approaches have recently been applied to continuous spatial dynamical systems, like climate, successfully uncovering the system's interaction structure. However the relationship between the underlying atmospheric or oceanic flow's dynamics and the estimated network measures have remained largely unclear. We bridge this crucial gap in a bottom-up approach and define a continuous analytical analogue of Pearson correlation networks for advection-diffusion dynamics on a background flow. Analysing complex networks of prototypical flows and from time series data of the equatorial Pacific, we find that our analytical model reproduces the most salient features of these networks and thus provides a general foundation of climate networks. The relationships we obtain between velocity field and network measures show that line-like structures of high betweenness mark transition zones in the flow rather than, as previously thought, the propagation of dynamical information.

Original languageEnglish
Article number4119
Number of pages5
JournalScientific Reports
Volume4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 18 Feb 2014

Keywords

  • complex networks
  • climate network

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