Uncertainty representation of ocean fronts based on fuzzy-rough set theory

Analysis of ocean fronts' uncertainties indicates that they result from indiscernibility of their spatial position and fuzziness of their intensity. In view of this, a flow hierarchy for uncertainty representation of ocean fronts is proposed on the basis of fuzzy-rough set theory. Firstly, raster scanning and blurring are carried out on an ocean front, and the upper and lower approximate sets, the indiscernible relation in fuzzy-rough theories and related operators in fuzzy set theories are adopted to represent its uncertainties, then they are classified into three sets: with members one hundred percent belonging to the ocean front, belonging to the ocean front's edge and definitely not belonging to the ocean front. Finally, the approximate precision and roughness degree are utilized to evaluate the ocean front's degree of uncertainties and the precision of the representation. It has been proven that the method is not only capable of representing ocean fronts' uncertainties, but also provides a new theory and method for uncertainty representation of other oceanic phenomena. © Science Press, Ocean University of China and Springer-Verlag GmbH 2008.