Dr. Larry J. Pratt

Theory and modeling of ocean and marginal sea circulation and mixing, with an emphasis on the lower limb of the meridional overturning circulation and mesoscale and submesoscale instability and turbulence.  Sea strait hydraulics, including exchange flows, deep overflow, hydraulic jumps and interfacial mixing, upstream influence, climate monitoring.  Abyssal circulation in deep canyons.  The use of dynamical systems and chaos theory to understand mixing and stirring at various scales.  The physical oceanography of marginal seas, including the Philippine and Indonesian Archipelagos and the Red Sea.  The dynamics of ocean and atmospheric jets, including the Gulf Stream and the Kuroshio.