Dr. Mestas-Nuñez obtained his M.S. (1993) and Ph.D. (1996) degrees in Physical Oceanography at Oregon State University (OSU) and has been with CIMAS and NOAA/AOML since 1996. He is also an Adjunct Professor at Barry University since 2002, where he teaches introductory classes in oceanography and climate.

Areas of Expertise: Physical oceanography with particular emphasis on the dynamics and statistical analysis of large-scale, low-frequency variability of wind-forced ocean circulation; the role of the ocean in climate variability; air-sea-land interaction problems from seasonal to multidecadal time scales; climatic applications of satellite observations; statistical analysis techniques.

Present Research Interests: Climatic variability of atmospheric moisture fluxes, precipitation over the Americas, tropical hurricane activity, and upper-ocean thermal structure. Climatic applications of satellite derived air-sea momentum and latent heat fluxes.