School of Physics Seminar Programme 2013-2014
Venue: Room 220, Physics
Time: 14:00
Thursday, June 26th
Welcome to the Submesoscale Zoo
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ABSTRACT
The surface mixed layer of the ocean is an important link in the climate system
and an area of intense marine productivity. It is also host to a diverse range of small-scale (~1
km) dynamics, which have been referred to as the “Submesoscale Zoo”. In this seminar, and
an introductory tour of this zoo will be given, with a discussion of notable recent results and
setting out of some of the current research questions. Numerical results from high resolution
simulations will then be presented which seek to address two of these questions:
how do sub mesoscale flows vary seasonally?
and
what impact do sub mesoscale flows have on upper ocean stratification?
The speaker is Liam Brannigan, a PhD student at the University of Oxford working with David
Marshall, George Nurser (National Oceanography Centre) and Alberto Naveira-Garabato
(University of Southampton). He previously did a MSc. in Physical Oceanography in Bangor and
an MA in Mathematics in Edinburgh which bracketed a 3-year interlude as an investment
consultant in London.