I am broadly interested in the nearshore ocean region called the “inner shelf.” This is the section just offshore of the surfzone (where waves break) and shoreward of where the interior is relatively free of boundary friction. A combination of observational and numerical methods are needed in inner-shelf research as the dynamics involve many processes across time-space scales (see this figure from Moulton et al., 2022). Therefore, you will often find me working in collaboration with teams from around the world. This is the fun of doing science!
Below are links to research partners and products. You can also find some animations on my YouTube page.
Observations on the South Atlantic Bight inner shelf
- With an interdisciplinary group of UNCW colleagues, I am studying how ocean hydrodynamics (waves and currents) influence the ecosystem around Frying Pan Shoals. This work is in collaboration with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
- Not strictly confined to the “inner shelf,” I am part of an interdisciplinary project with UNCW colleagues TEAL-SHIPS, where we are measuring ecosystems and oceanography from the Cape Fear River Plume across the Gulf Stream. This work is funded by the UNC system office ROI (2024 – 2027).
- The South Atlantic Bight is home to a few long-term ocean measurements. With regional observing partners CORMP and SECOORA, I am interested in the analysis of storm impacts and long-term variability in these data.
Coastal hydrodynamic models
- I am working on wave and current models that accurately reproduce variability on rocky shorelines. This is part of a Multi University Research Initiative funded by the Office of Naval Research.
- The MOANA project, aims to deliver open-access, high fidelity numerical circulation models to ocean stakeholders in coastal areas around New Zealand. With students and research collaborators, I work on coastal-resolving simulations of particle transport and water properties. A few examples from this research:
- During my post-doc, I worked on the representation of internal tides in regional models as part of the Inner-shelf Dynamics Experiment. Analyses of these data and model outputs are ongoing.
- BAMS article overview
- Contrasting effects of barotropic and baroclinic tides on stratification and particle dispersion.
Small-scale coastal ocean processes
My favorite charismatic physical processes are small-scale and often unresolved by numerical models:
- Transient rip currents and cross-shelf exchange
- Internal tides and waves
Seasick Suanda 