Ocean Dynamics Group, University of Washington

Our climate is affected by turbulent oceanic flows where energy is being continuously transferred across a wide range of scales -- quantitative understanding of these processes remains one of the big challenges in oceanography. My research resides at a synergetic overlap between geophysical fluid dynamics, physical oceanography, and climate dynamics. I am leading the Ocean Dynamics group at the University of Washington that works on mesoscale and submesoscale ocean turbulence, sea ice-ocean interactions, floe-scale sea ice modeling, laboratory experiments, remote sensing, and applications of Deep Learning to satellite oceanography and ocean turbulence. Our approach is to gain fundamental knowledge by reducing complex phenomena to their driving mechanisms and developing mathematical models to quantify and predict their evolution. Feel free to contact me about potential student and postdoctoral opportunities.

Sea ice dynamics is a topic of continuing debate, particularly at scales of motion that are comparable to sea ice floes. We are developing from scratch a sea ice model that is based on an explicit representation of the floe lifecycle, including the fractures, welding, formation, etc. The goal is to have a model that could bridge the gap between the floe scale and the basic scale sea ice dynamics.

Isotropic floe fractures leading to sea ice motion under external stresses

Submesoscale Eddies in Marginal Ice Zones

Localized and episodic fluxes due to submesoscale oceanic turbulence play an important role in larger scale dynamics and affect biogeochemical cycles via vertical advection of nutrients. We are exploring submesoscale variability in the Arctic Ocean, particularly in marginal and seasonal ice zones, where active mechanical and thermodynamical eddy interactions with overlying sea ice can affect its growth/melt rates.

Theory of the Ekman-driven Beaufort Gyre variability

Arctic Ocean stores a large amount of freshwater within the Beaufort Gyre. The freshwater accumulation was linked to changing atmospheric winds, which can cause a release of the accumulated fresh waters with global climate implications. Nonetheless, the basic gyre dynamics are not well understood and it is unclear how much freshwater can be held in under persistent forcing and how quickly it can be released. Combining theory with numerical simulations, we work to explore dominant physical processes governing the FWC dynamics, focusing on the interactions between eddies, mean flow, and sea ice. It is the interplay between these processes that defines the gyre stability and affects its variability.

Eddy formation and escape from Arctic Ocean fronts

Eddies are commonly observed in the Arctic Ocean and can affect the melting of sea ice due to increased heat fluxes associated with enhanced boundary layer turbulence. However, the nature of mesoscale and submesoscale variability in the Arctic Ocean is not well understood. We use idealized models and high-resolution simulations along with in situ observations to explore the dynamics of outcropping density fronts and identify factors influencing the formation of coherent eddies.

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