Posts by Molly Kelleher
PO Department features prominently in 2026 Woods Hole Sea Grant Educator workshop, Fishing for Data: Real world applications for oceanographic observations
by Caroline Ummenhofer The Woods Hole Sea Grant Educator workshop, Fishing for Data: Real world applications for oceanographic observations, took place on January 23, 2026, in Woods Hole, MA. It…
Read MoreCongratulations Dr. Katy Abbott!
On May 4, Dr. Katy Abbott celebrated her successful thesis defense—Vertical Transport and Transformation of Biogeochemical Properties in the Upper Ocean—with her advisor, Amala Mahadevan, along with fellow MIT/WHOI joint…
Read MoreTracking Black-browed albatrosses in the South Atlantic
by Francesco Ventura As part of NASA grant 80NSSC25K7836, PO’s Francesco Ventura led a field campaign to the Falkland Islands to track Black-browed albatrosses (Thalassarche melanophris) nesting on Steeple Jason.…
Read MoreCongratulations Dr. Phadtaya Poemnamthip!
Dr. Phadtaya Poemnamthip celebrates a successful thesis defense along with fellow MIT/WHOI joint program students, chair of the defense, members of the thesis committee, friends and family. Dr. Poemnamthip’s doctoral…
Read MoreSvenja Ryan and Caroline Ummenhofer Join Artist Deb Ehrens for “Ocean Fever” Talk at the Cultural Center of Cape Cod
Svenja Ryan and Caroline Ummenhofer at a joint public talk with artist Deb Ehrens at the Cultural Center of Cape Cod on April 11, 2026, for programming for their exhibit “Ocean Fever” that…
Read MoreCongratulations Dr. Weiguang (Roger) Wu!
On April 9, Dr. Weiguang (Roger) Wu celebrated his successful thesis defense—Vertical Transport at Curved Ocean Fronts—with his advisor, Amala Mahadevan, along with fellow MIT/WHOI joint program students, friends, and…
Read MorePO Researchers On Board the R/V Solander for MINTIE Cruise
Adam Houk, Andy Davies, and Dan Torres aboard the R/V Solander…
Read MoreMangrove sediments reveal drivers of Late Holocene sea-level change in the equatorial Pacific Ocean
Sefton, J. P., Kemp, A. C., Engelhart, S. E., Brain, M. J., Ellison, J. C., Creel, R., Piecuch, C. G., Kopp, R. E., Charley, B., & Lihpai, S. (2026). Mangrove sediments reveal…
Read MorePersistent topographic trapping of the Middle Atlantic Bight shelfbreak front
Taenzer, L., Gawarkiewicz, G., & Plueddemann, A. (2026). Persistent Topographic Trapping of the Middle Atlantic Bight Shelfbreak Front. Journal of Physical Oceanography. https://doi.org/10.1175/jpo-d-25-0075.1 Seasonal position and strength of the MAB shelfbreak front. (a) The shelfbreak frontal…
Read MoreCombining paleocurrents and sea level in a least-cost pathway model of human dispersal from Sunda to Sahul, 65-45,000 years ago
Borreggine, M., Powell, E. M., Fu, M., Yang, X., Weeks, E., Zhang, B., Wilkinson, K., Mitrovica, J. X., Tryon, C., & Meadow, R. (2026). Combining paleocurrents and sea level in a…
Read MoreDirect observations of strong jets transporting deep and bottom water into the Indian Ocean through the fracture zones of the Southwest Indian Ridge
Menezes, V., Furey, H., Torres, D., Bahr, F., & Baker, L. (2026). Direct Observations of Strong Jets Transporting Deep and Bottom Water Into the Indian Ocean Through the Fracture Zones…
Read MoreNorth American ice sheet persistence into past interglacials should inform future projections
Creel, R. C., Kopp, R. E., Dutton, A., Zhou, Y., Raymo, M. E., Britt, C. J., & DeConto, R. M. (2026). North American ice sheet persistence into past interglacials should…
Read MoreMIT/WHOI Joint Program Students Attend the 2026 Ocean Sciences Meeting in Glasgow, Scotland
by Anthony Meza and Hiroki Nagao Graduate students and alumni from WHOI’s Physical Oceanography Department recently joined more than 5,000 attendees at the 2026 Ocean Sciences Meeting in Glasgow, Scotland, for a…
Read MoreCongratulations Dr. Theo Carr!
On January 6, Dr. Theo Carr celebrated his successful thesis defense—Implications of seasonality and asymmetry for ENSO’s predictability, impacts, and future changes—with his advisor, Caroline Ummenhofer, along with fellow MIT/WHOI…
Read MoreRemote and regional drivers of the Indonesian Throughflow under future warming: Implications for Inter-Basin Freshwater Transport
Wang, S., Waitzmann, D., Ummenhofer, C. C., & Oppo, D. W. (2026). Remote and Regional Drivers of the Indonesian Throughflow Under Future Warming: Implications for Inter-Basin Freshwater Transport. Geophysical Research Letters, 53(1),…
Read MoreA multi-agency experiment on internal wave energy, mixing, and interactions and their representation in global ocean models and operational forecasts
Buijsman, M., Waterhouse, A., Zaron, E., Yadidya, B., Xu, C., Whitley, V., Wenegrat, J., Wang, J., Wallcraft, A., Varma, D., Tchonang, B., Siyanbola, O., Shriver, J., Sheremet, V., Send, U.,…
Read MoreMeso-submesoscale surface temperature-salinity compensation and density gradient variability in the North Atlantic from Saildrone observations
Yu, L. (2025). Meso-Submesoscale Surface Temperature-Salinity Compensation and Density Gradient Variability in the North Atlantic from Saildrone Observations. Journal of Physical Oceanography. https://doi.org/10.1175/jpo-d-25-0037.1 Why it matters: Existing satellite salinity measurements have resolutions of…
Read MoreA theory for attractors of microplastic particles in the resonant structures of a 3D eddy
Pratt, L. J., & Rypina, I. I. (2025). A theory for attractors of microplastic particles in the resonant structures of a 3D eddy. Chaos, 35(12), 123124. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0288722 Attractors of Microplastic Particles in a 3D Ocean…
Read MoreSources and paths of the lower branch of the abyssal overturning circulation
Yang, X., Cessi, P., & Blanke, B. (2025). Sources and Paths of the Lower Branch of the Abyssal Overturning Circulation. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 130(12), e2025JC023012. https://doi.org/10.1029/2025JC023012 Colored contours: horizontal streamlines…
Read MoreClimate impacts of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation on Australia
Taschetto, A., McGregor, S., Dommenget, D., Gillett, Z., Nicholls, N., Sharmila, S., van Rensch, P., Verdon-Kidd, D., Boschat, G., Chung, C., Lieber, R., Abram, N., Allan, R., Allen, K., Ashcroft,…
Read MoreGlen Gawarkiewicz Presents “Disappearances and Fortunes of the Sea”
PO’s own Glen Gawarkeiwicz presented a special Buoy Lunch talk, Disappearances and Fortunes of the Sea…
Read MoreCongratulations Dr. Cora Hersh!
Recently, Dr. Cora Hersh celebrated the successful defense of her doctoral thesis, Tunnels in the Ocean: Formation and Propagation of Interannual Water Mass Anomalies in Global Subtropical Cells, alongside her…
Read MoreAnalysis of tidal flows through the Strait of Gibraltar using Dynamic Mode Decomposition
Dias, S., Surasinghe, S., Priyankara, K., Budišić, M., Pratt, L., Sánchez-Garrido, J., & Bollt, E. (2025). Analysis of tidal flows through the Strait of Gibraltar using Dynamic Mode Decomposition. Journal of…
Read MoreSetting sail during the Southwest Monsoon
by Katy Abbott This summer, I got the opportunity to spend six weeks at sea in the Bay of Bengal during the Southwest Monsoon. Although I have studied wind-driven processes…
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