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OPD Research Areas
Instruments & Sensors See what we design, build and use in our research…Educational Opportunities Graduate students in the Ocean Physics Department take their coursework through an academic department at the UW, while pursuing research projects with a faculty advisor in OPD. Students are offered the opportunity to experience the entire life cycle of sea-going research projects, including experiment planning, participation in research cruises, data processing, scientific analysis and the presentation of results at national and international meetings. More >>Current Students >> 
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What We Do OPD investigators pursue research focused primarily on small-scale and meso-scale oceanographic processes, design and build unique instruments to facilitate these studies, and educate undergraduate and graduate students through instruction and employment.
'Wave Chasers' Cruise Blog The 'Wave Chasers' research team is now on a cruise in the South Pacific. They are mapping the bathymetry of the Samoan Passage — a deep choke point that Antarctic bottom water flows through on its way to the North Pacific Ocean.At-sea blog >> 
North Atlantic Bloom - Webinar Series This dynamic webinar series features the research of scientists from the North Atlantic Bloom (NAB) Experiment and focuses on key concepts in ocean science. The five-part series consists of presentations from NAB scientists, and tells the story of the North Atlantic spring phytoplankton bloom and its role in the ocean ecosystem. More >>
New Thinking About Ocean Fronts Wind blowing on the ocean is a crucial factor mixing the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide into the ocean depths and keeping it from going back into the atmosphere. APL-UW and Stanford University researchers report in Science that turbulence at a front near Japan is 10 to 20 times more energetic than what the wind could generate. More >> |
In the News "Kilo Moana" scientists and crew back on dry land after scary moments at sea KHON 2 (Honolulu), Brianne Randle 7 Jan 2012 The research vessel was on day two of a five-day mission about 60 miles north of Oahu in deep ocean when it began taking on water at the rate of 400 gallons per hour. Students and scientists from Hawaii and the University of Washington were on board and preparing to deploy a mooring to measure waves. "It was extremely unnerving. We have 20 scientists on-board, we have 20 man crew on-board, and I've been sailing for 18 years. I've never been a situation remotely like that before," said oceanographer Matthew Alford. Wavechasers condemn gummy bears to crushing ocean depths UW Today, Sandra Hines 2 Nov 2011 Follow the serious science - and the development of novel "Will it crush?" segments inspired by the YouTube hit "Will it blend?" - as University of Washington Wavechasers work in the South Pacific near Samoa. The expedition Oct. 24 to Nov. 5 is led by the UW Applied Physics Laboratory's Matthew Alford, with scientists trying to learn more about waves as tall as skyscrapers that roll along unseen thousands of feet below the ocean surface. New 'ocean acidification' monitoring equipment deployed off LaPush Peninsula Daily News 18 Jul 2010 Scientists are optimistic that sophisticated monitors now operating off the North Olympic Peninsula coast will help them understand acidity levels that are skyrocketing both in the ocean and in Puget Sound and Hood Canal. Recent Papers Alkire, M.B., E. D'Asaro, C. Lee, M.J. Perry, A. Gray, I. Cetinic, N. Briggs, E. Rehm, E. Kallin, J. Kaiser, and A. Gonzalez-Posada, "Estimates of net community production and export using high-resolution, Lagrangian measurements of O2, NO3–, and POC through the evolution of a spring diatom bloom in the North Atlantic," Deep Sea Res. I, 64, 157-174, doi:10.1016/j.dsr.2012.01.012, 2012. 1 Jun 2012, Link Kunze, E., C. MacKay, E.E. McPhee-Shaw, K. Morrice, J.B. GIrton, and S.R. Terker, "Turbulent mixing and exchange with interior waters on sloping boundaries," J. Phys. Oceanogr., doi:10.1175/JPO-D-11-075.1, 2012. 30 Apr 2012, Link Lien, R.-C., E.A. D'Asaro, F. Henyey, M.-H. Chang, T.-T. Tang, and Y.-J. Yang, "Trapped core formation within a shoaling nonlinear internal wave," J. Phys. Oceanogr., 42, 511-525, doi:10.1175/2011JPO4578.1, 2012. 1 Apr 2012, Link |
