used a modeling program to simulate the launch and dispersal of more than 7,000 virtual “efloats” from the same starting point.
“That way we could send out many more floats than we can in real life, for a longer period of time,” Lozier said.
Subjecting those efloats to the same underwater dynamics as the real ones, the researchers then traced where they moved. “The spread of the model and the RAFOS float trajectories after two years is very similar,” they reported.
What? Using the same dynamics, did they expect them to be different? I cannot understand the rational of some of these scientists.
Maybe the rationale is to be paid well for doing cool stuff.