Amy’s primary research interests  are aimed at understanding the structure and dynamics of the most energetic features of the deep circulation:  boundary currents (flows along the edges of the ocean basins) and deep mesoscale eddies (swirling masses of water typically 50 miles in diameter). These components of the deep ocean circulation have an important role in transporting heat, salt and other water properties (and the creatures that live in them)  long distances in the ocean. The pathways of these currents and eddies are hard to observe because they often have no expression at the sea surface. Amy and her team have used several techniques to uncover these mysteries of the deep, but most often they release freely drifting buoys that sink down below the surface, where they drift with the currents and are tracked underwater using sound. They have deployed hundreds of these so-called RAFOS (Ranging and Fixing of Sound) floats in the North Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and Indian Ocean. With these and other tools, Amy’s group has discovered the formation location of some deep eddies, tracked their life histories and eventual demise; uncovered previously unknown pathways of the deepest currents in the North Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico; and showed important linkages between the pathways of deep currents and the flows above, which in some cases are flowing in the opposite direction.

Legally blind for over 20 years, Amy has learned to use several adaptive technologies to continue her research. These include video magnifiers for enlarging text and graphics, scanners for converting print into speech, and screen readers and magnifying software on the computer. There have been four canine members of Amy’s group:  Winslow, Abby, Echo, and most recently, Intrepid, a black lab guide dog from  The Seeing Eye in New Jersey. Intrepid doesn’t yet have his sea legs, but he travels everywhere else with Amy, including meetings and conferences.