Discussion
The model is a fit to a rather coarse data set. The Global
Drifter Program logs the positions of many thousands
of drifters in all oceans. Drifters are buoys that float in
the upper layer of the water and are moved by a sum of
influencing forces, such as wind and ocean currents. By
design, the transition matrix can only reflect the general
motion which was interpolated from the observational
data. The model relies on the following assumptions: