  New generalized equations of motion for the Weber-Clebsch potentials that
describe both the Navier-Stokes and MHD dynamics are derived. These depend on a
new parameter, which has dimensions of time for Navier-Stokes and inverse
velocity for MHD. Direct numerical simulations are performed. For
Navier-Stokes, the generalized formalism captures the intense reconnection of
vortices of the Boratav, Pelz and Zabusky flow, in agreement with the previous
study by Ohkitani and Constantin. For MHD, the new formalism is used to detect
magnetic reconnection in several flows: the 3D Arnold, Beltrami and Childress
(ABC) flow and the (2D and 3D) Orszag-Tang vortex. It is concluded that periods
of intense activity in the magnetic enstrophy are correlated with periods of
increasingly frequent resettings. Finally, the positive correlation between the
sharpness of the increase in resetting frequency and the spatial localization
of the reconnection region is discussed.
