Research Overview

I currently work at the Ifremer as a postdoc with H. Mercier. I work on mode waters although I'm now also focusing on the North Atlantic subpolar gyre. In particular I want to make use of the Oxygen to study these subpolar mode waters. You can check some comments in the dedicated page here.

Annual mean sea surface dissolved oxygen for the World Ocean. Data from the World Ocean Atlas 2001

Before that, as a postdoc at MIT (apr. 2006-dec. 2008) I was involved in the CLIMODE project (which in turn is part of CLIVAR) which means CLIvar MOde water Dynamic Experiment. The goal was to study the dynamic of the eighteen degree mode water (EDW) in the North Atlantic through analytical, numerical and observational approaches. I was involved in the first two methods with John Marshall. If you want to learn more, check the Postdoc / Subtropical Mode Water section.

Schematic diagram showing the interaction of a mixed layer (low PV) and the stratified interior (high PV) in a strong frontal region with outcropping isopycnal surfaces, σ, undergoing buoyancy loss, B. Eddies forming along the front play a central role in controlling horizontal fluxes through the mixed layer and two-way quasi-adiabatic exchange between the mixed layer and the interior.

I started my research focusing on interactions between the ocean and the atmosphere in the Southern Hemisphere for my PhD (2002-2006).

I studied the patterns of interannual variability of the ocean-atmosphere coupled system in the Southern Hemisphere extratropics using a simple dynamical coupled model, in order to determine the basic physical processes of air-sea interaction independently of the tropical forcing. Next figure shows the most important of these patterns: the Southern Annular Mode. If you want to learn more, check the PhD /air-sea interactions section.

Main pattern of air-sea interactions in the Southern Hemisphere (1st SVD mode between geopotential at 800hPa and the SST).