	LATEXtools
The LATEX (LAgrangian Transport EXperiment) project was developed to study the influence of coupled physical and biogeochemical dynamics at the meso- and submeso-scale on the transfers of matter and heat between the coastal zone and the open ocean. One of the goals of the Latex10 field experiment, conducted during September 2010 in the Gulf of Lion (NW Mediterranean), was to mark a dynamical mesoscale feature by releasing a passive tracer (Sulfur Hexafluoride-SF6) together with an array of Lagrangian buoys. The goal was to release the tracer in an initial patch as homogeneous as possible in the horizontal, and to study its turbulent mixing and dispersion while minimizing the contribution due to the advection.
For that, it was necessary to continuously adjust the vessel route in order to remain as closely as possible in the Lagrangian reference frame moving with the investigated mesoscale structure. To accomplish this task, we developed the methodology and the software package LATEXtools.
The software is equipped with a series of graphical and user-friendly accessories for i) planning in near-real time the vessel route and sampling stations; ii) treating and mapping oceanographic cruise data; iii) simulating tracer injection and dispersion in idealized conditions by a Lagrangian single particle numerical model. The entire package for Matlab is distributed in the hope that it will be useful for oceanographic community.

LATEXtools