The relative roles of oceanic and atmospheric processes in driving air-sea interaction
My master’s work studies air-sea interaction on monthly timescales using satellite data from 1993-2019. With Dr. LuAnne Thompson, I examine the lagged-correlation relationships between sea surface temperature (SST), mixed-layer heat content (HC) and surface turbulent heat flux (Q) to study upper ocean heat content variability and air-sea interaction. I define SST-Q and HC-Q feedbacks, which estimates the strength of atmospheric feedback to SST anomalies and to upper ocean heat content. I then define an effective depth of air-sea interaction (H), which describes the depth of the ocean that participates in the exchange of heat with the atmosphere. I also examine the ratio of the effective depth to the maximum mixed-layer depth (R) to estimate the renewal rate of the mixed-layer heat content from interior ocean processes relative to that from atmospherically driven surface fluxes. We find large values of H and R in regions with strong ocean currents such as the Gulf Stream, the Kuroshio Current, and the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, while interior subtropical regions exhibit small values. This analysis will improve our understanding of the relationship between upper ocean transport processes and surface heat flux variability and enhance our predictive understanding of climate variability.
Dr. Thompson and I have two papers in progress, one focusing on the effective depth of air-sea interaction in the Gulf Stream and one focusing on the seasonality of global air-sea interaction.
Predicting the spatiotemporal evolution of marine heatwaves
Thanks to funding from the Graubard Fellowship in the Program on Climate Change, I am starting a project on predicting the spatiotemporal evolution of marine heatwaves. I am using Ocetrac to track marine heatwaves in the Seasonal-to-Multiyear Large Ensemble (SMYLE), a series of initialized hindcasts in CESM2.
Presentations
Cohen, J. T., Thompson, L., Seasonal variation in the relative roles of oceanic and atmospheric processes in driving air-sea interaction, Abstract OS13B-08, AGU Fall Meeting, 12 Dec. 2022, oral
Cohen, J. T., Thompson, L., Quantifying the relative roles of atmospheric and oceanic processes in driving air-sea interaction in the Gulf Stream Region, Graduate Climate Conference 2022, poster
Cohen, J. T., Thompson, L., Quantifying the relative roles of atmospheric and oceanic processes in driving air-sea interaction in the Gulf Stream Region, 2022 US CLIVAR Whither the Gulf Stream Workshop, 15-17 June 2022, poster/lightning talk
Cohen, J. T., Thompson, L., Seasonal Variation in the Effective Depth of Air-Sea Interaction, Ocean Sciences Meeting, 4 Mar. 2022, oral (remote)
Cohen, J. T., Thompson, L., The Effective Depth of Air-Sea Interaction, Oceanography Graduate Student Symposium, 5 Nov. 2021, oral
Cohen, J. T., Thompson, L., The Effective Depth of Air-Sea Interaction on Monthly and Seasonal Timescales, Graduate Climate Conference, 29–31 Oct. 2021, poster (remote)
Cohen, J. T., Thompson, L., Drushka, K., Timescales of Atmosphere-Ocean Interaction in the Southern Ocean, Abstract A055-05, AGU Fall Meeting, 8 Dec. 2020, oral (remote)
Cohen, J. T., Thompson, L., Drushka, K., Timescales of Atmosphere-Ocean Interaction in the Southern Ocean, presented at 2020 Graduate Climate Conference, 30 Oct. - 1 Nov. 2020, poster (remote)
Cohen, J. T., Lee, S., Li, Q., Najjar, R. G., Is Jet-Scale Overturning Circulation Present in the North Atlantic Ocean?, Abstract OS43C-2090, AGU Fall Meeting, 10-14 Dec. 2018, poster
Cohen, J. T., Lee, S., Li, Q., Najjar, R. G., Is Jet-Scale Overturning Circulation Present in the North Atlantic Ocean?, Carleton College Student Research Symposium & Celebration, 19 Oct. 2018, poster