Over longer timescales, I am also involved with research aimed at improving our predictive capabilities of climate change.  Specifically,  we have designed a system that is capable of directly measuring the exchange of CO₂ between the ocean and atmosphere.  The data from this system is being used to improve the way this exchange is simulated in climate models.  I have also been actively involved in the development of new ocean observing systems such as the Martha's Vineyard Coastal Observatory (MVCO).

RECENT & ONGOING RESEARCH PROGRAMS

The focus of our research is on the observational component of these investigations.  This getting out into the field, which in our case is the coastal or open ocean.  These field programs have taken advantage of a number of platforms including the R/P FLIP (shown above), research vessels such as the R/V Brown (shown below), and most recently on the Air-Sea Interaction Tower (ASIT) at the MVCO.  A brief description is provided below.

GASEX 98 & 01:  These experiments were designed to investigate the processes that control the exchange of CO₂ between the ocean and atmosphere.  Two cruises were conducted; one in the North Altantic where a phytoplankton bloom drove an exchange of CO₂ from the atmosphere to ocean (a sink of CO₂) and another in the Equitorial Pacific where upwelling drives and exchange of CO₂ from the ocean to the atmosphere (a source of CO₂). 

CBLAST LOW: This experiment took place in the coastal waters south of Martha's Vineyard during the summers of 2001-2003.  My component of the experiment ultized the ASIT to make detailed measurements of the vertical exchange of momentum, heat and mass across the coupled boundary layer.   Our investigations to date have focused on the interaction between the wind and swell and fog formation in low wind conditions.

OHATS:  This experiment also took advantage of the ASIT to investigate the effects of ocean waves on atmospheric turbulence.  The study was jointly conducted with colleagues at NCAR and WHOI, and utilized a closely spaced array of 18 sonic anemometers (2 rows of 9 each) to investigate how wave induced fllows in the atmospheric surface layer affected the subgridscale parameterizations used in Large-Eddy Simulations (LES).  The deployment lasted from early August to late October 2004 to capture the transition from predominantly stable to unstable atmospheric stratification.

CLIMODE:  This project is designed to study the dynamics of Eighteen Degree Water (EDW), the subtropical mode water of the North Atlantic.  How the EDW is formed and maintained involves a number of poorly understood process that have improtant implications in ocean climate models.  Our objective of our component of the experiments is to accurately measure and model the air-sea exchange processes responsible for the formation of the EDW.  The measurements will be made from 2-year mooring deployment, as well as from a drifting spar buoy and ship-based measurements during wintertime cruises in 2006 and 2007.

Edson, J. B., C. J. Zappa, J. A. Ware, W. R. McGillis, and J. E. Hare, 2004. Scalar flux profile relationships over the open ocean.  J. Geophys. Res., 109, C08S09, doi:10.1029/2003JC001960.

McGillis, W. R., J. B. Edson, C. J. Zappa, J. D. Ware, S. P. McKenna, E. A. Terray, J. E. Hare, C. W. Fairall, W. Drennan, M. Donelan, M. D. DeGrandpre, R. Wanninkhof, and R. A. Feely, 2004.  Air-sea CO2 exchange in the equatorial Pacific.  J. Geophys. Res., 109, C08S08, doi:10.1029/2003JC001960.