Abstract. Direct numerical simulation is a valuable tool for modeling turbulence, but like "wet lab" simulation, it does not solve the problem of how to interpret the data. Manual analysis, accompanied by visual aids, is a time consuming, error prone process due to the elaborate timedependent structures appearing in simulations. We describe a technique based on volume tracking, that enables the worker to identify and observe evolving coherent flow structures, eliminating uninteresting background data. Using our techniques we were able to investigate 3-D density overturns in stably stratified homogeneous turbulence, understand entangled physical structures and their dynamical behavior. We describe our technique, which improves on past work by incorporating application-specific knowledge into the identification process. Such knowledge was vital in filtering out spurious information that would have interfered with the experimental method. Representative results are shown which summarize the physical insight gained by the application of the above identification/tracking method
