The Physical Oceanography Division (PhOD) is a part of the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) together with the Ocean Chemistry and Hurricane Research Divisions. The Physical Oceanography Division carries out interdisciplinary scientific investigations of the physics of ocean currents and water properties, and on the role of the ocean in climate, extreme weather events, and ecosystems. The tools used to carry out these studies range from sensors on deep ocean moorings to satellite-based instruments to measurements made on research and commercial shipping vessels and autonomous vehicles, and include data analysis and numerical modeling as well as theoretical approaches.
- Meso-to-large scale dynamics and variability of ocean currents;
- The redistribution of heat, salt and momentum through the oceans;
- The interactions between oceans, atmosphere, and coastal environments;
- The influence of climate variability on the ocean ecosystems, hurricanes and tornadoes;
In a recent study by scientists at Boston University, PhOD, and NCAR, a new mechanism was uncovered for initiating ENSO events wherein SLP-generated North Pacific trade winds induce subsurface heat content changes that serve as precursors to El Ninos. This trade-wind charging mechanism of the equatorial Pacific is fundamentally different from any previously diagnosed, and studies examining the surface and subsurface ocean dynamics associated with this mechanism are underway. Go>>
- Interhemispheric influence of the northern summer monsoons on the southern subtropical anticyclones [pdf]
- Dust accumulation biases in PIRATA shortwave radiation records [pdf]
- Monitoring systems of global ocean heat content and the implications for climate change, a review [pdf]
- Objective detection of oceanic eddies and the Agulhas leakage [pdf]
- On the accuracy of SeaWiFS ocean color data products on the west Florida shelf
Complete list of publications>>
PhOD hosts XBT Science Team web page
- May 21 - Christopher Meinen: Attribution of Deep Western Boundary Current variability at 26.5oN
- May 29 - Chunzai Wang: A Fingerprint for the AMOC: Multidecadal Ocean Temperature Variability in the Tropical North Atlantic
- June 18 - Rick Lumpkin: The Structure and Dynamics of the Hawaiian Island Wake
- July 30 - George Halliwell: Ocean model strategies for improving hurricane forecasting
- August 22 - Gregory Foltz: Mechanisms of seasonal sea surface temperature variability in the northeastern tropical Atlantic [link to presentation]
- August 28 - Elizabeth Johns: Synoptic oceanographic conditions and larval fish assemblages in the northeastern Caribbean Sea and the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System, 2006 - 2009 [link to presentation]
- September 10 - Claudia Schmid: Transports of the Subtropical Gyre in the South Atlantic from three-dimensional velocity field based on Argo and Altimetry [link to presentation]
- September 11 - Molly Baringer: Review of Meridional Heat Transport and Overturning Circulation [link to presentation]
All seminars are held at the AOML first floor conference room, 3:00PM
- Post Doctoral Associate (CIMAS) [pdf] [apply online]
- Research Associate II (CIMAS) [pdf] [apply online]
For further information please contact Gustavo Goni at (305) 361-4339.