Understandably, fluid dynamics, the study of fluids in motion, lies at the heart of most questions that humans ask of the ocean. Increasing numbers of people are moving to its edge, yet the added stress we put on the coastal ocean can overwhelm its benefits. Earth’s climate is conditioned by the ocean's vast capacity to hold and transport heat, and many of the greatest uncertainties in projections of climate change lie in its depths. Evaluating problems such as storm surges, climate change, and pollutant discharges requires a detailed knowledge of ocean and estuary transport processes.

My primary oceanographic research goal is to understand and predict how water masses and constituents from river systems are assimilated into estuaries and later, into the ocean. This topic of mixing is increasingly recognized as one of the most difficult, yet important, problems in ocean physics.

My Ph.D. research examines turbulent mixing and carbon dioxide fluxes in the Hudson River estuary. The Hudson takes on a tremendous load of pollutants due to its proximity to New York City, yet typically disperses these pollutants without severe environmental degradation. Due to the Hudson's wide range of physical conditions and the ease of access relative to other oceanic sites, it is a perfect place to study turbulent mixing. Through our field deployments, we have observed vigorous mixing driven by tidal currents in bottom boundary layers, by winds in surface boundary layers and even in one case by a 20-foot high breaking internal wave on the density interface that divides the deep salty ocean waters from the surface freshwater outflow.

Some of my projects include:

• Probing a Turbulent Relationship: Physical Factors Controlling Air-Water CO2 Transfer in Estuaries
• Hudson River Currents, Mixing and Sediment Transport ( details )
• River Influences on Shelf Ecosystems ( details )
• Climate variability, juvenile salmon survival, and satellite-based mapping of ocean fronts ( details )
• CLIVAR repeat hydrography, cruise A16S lowered acoustic Doppler current profiler measurements and analysis ( details )