Such influence can be of different types, but OECSs invariably create a short-term coherent trajectory pattern for which they serve as a theoretical centerpiece.
In observations of tracer patterns in nature, one readily identifies short-term variability in material structures such as emerging and dissolving coherent features.
[1] Despite OECSs are defined for general dynamical systems, their role in creating coherent patterns is perhaps most readily observable in fluid flows.
Therefore, OECSs are suitable in a number of applications ranging from flow control to environmental assessment such as now-casting or short-term forecasting of pattern evolution, where quick operational decisions need to be made.
Examples include floating debris, oil spills, surface drifters, and control of unsteady flow separation.