Bio

Earle Wilson is an assistant professor in the Department of Earth System Science. He is a physical oceanographer who studies ocean dynamics at high latitudes and their far-reaching impacts on the global climate. He is particularly interested in the circulation of the Southern Ocean and its interactions with the cryosphere (i.e., sea ice and marine-terminating glaciers). Dr. Wilson and his group explore these research questions using various tools and methods, ranging from in situ ocean observations and idealized numerical models.

Academic Appointments

Administrative Appointments

  • Assistant Professor, Earth System Science (2022 - Present)

Professional Education

  • PhD, University of Washington, Oceanography (2019)
  • BS, Columbia University, Applied Physics (2012)

Contact

  • Academic
    earlew@stanford.edu
    University - Faculty Department: Department of Earth System Science Position: Assistant Professor
    • 473 VIA ORTEGA
    • STANFORD,  California  94305 

Additional Info

Links

2025-26 Courses

Stanford Advisees

All Publications

  • Recent extremes in Antarctic sea ice extent modulated by ocean heat ventilation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Wilson, E. A., Arlen, L., Campbell, E. C. 2026; 123 (14): e2530832123

    Abstract

    Antarctic sea ice extent (SIE) has experienced unprecedented variability in recent decades, with record expansion through 2015, followed by an abrupt transition to sustained decline. Using over two decades of under-ice Argo float observations, we show that changes in ocean heat ventilation have modulated these extreme sea ice variations on interannual timescales. Between 2007 and 2015, the ocean thermocline warmed and shoaled within the Weddell Sea and off East Antarctica, with the former accounting for most of the interannual variability in Antarctic SIE. After 2016, as Antarctic SIE declined, surface salinity increased, enhancing exchange between the sharpened thermocline and surface waters. Idealized modeling of the Weddell Sea indicates that these upper ocean trends were due to concurrent variations in wind-driven Ekman upwelling and precipitation. During the sea ice expansion phase, increased precipitation enhanced ocean stratification, suppressing the upward flux of subsurface heat while promoting sea ice growth. However, between 2014 and 2016, a nearly three-fold increase in upwelling rates weakened the upper ocean stratification, releasing the accumulated subsurface heat. Though a similar sequence of events occurred along the East Antarctic margin, distinct upper-ocean trends and surface forcing in the Pacific sector of the Southern Ocean imply alternative drivers of recent sea ice loss in that region. Nevertheless, these results suggest that future multiyear Antarctic SIE variability will depend on the competing influences of wind-driven upwelling and surface freshwater fluxes.

    View details for DOI 10.1073/pnas.2530832123

    View details for PubMedID 41871273

  • Modeling mixing and melting in laminar seawater intrusions under grounded ice CRYOSPHERE Mamer, M. S., Robel, A. A., Lai, C. C. K., Wilson, E., Washam, P. 2025; 19 (8): 3227-3251

    View details for DOI 10.5194/tc-19-3227-2025

    View details for Web of Science ID 001555454700001

  • The Impact of Underestimated Southern Ocean Freshening on Simulated Historical Sea Surface Temperature Trends Geophysical Research Letters Kaufman, Z., Wilson, E., Purich, A., Beadling, R., Li, Y. 2025

    View details for DOI 10.1029/2024GL112639

  • A Framework for Observing Changes in Sea Ice Due to Extratropical Cyclones in the Southern Ocean Tucker, J. A., Schroeder, D. M., Wilson, E. W., IEEE IEEE. 2025: 76-+

    View details for DOI 10.1109/IGARSS55030.2025.11243132

    View details for Web of Science ID 001697407700016

  • Future Priorities for Observing the Dynamics of the Southern Ocean BULLETIN OF THE AMERICAN METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY Wilson, E. A., Dove, L. A., Gray, A. R., Macgilchrist, G., Purkey, S., Thompson, A. F., Youngs, M., Diggs, S., Balwada, D., Campbell, E. C., Talley, L. D. 2024; 105 (12): E2316-E2323

    View details for DOI 10.1175/BAMS-D-24-0254.1

    View details for Web of Science ID 001421617700003

  • Mechanisms for Abrupt Summertime Circumpolar Surface Warming in the Southern Ocean JOURNAL OF CLIMATE Wilson, E. A., Bonan, D. B., Thompson, A. F., Armstrong, N., Riser, S. C. 2023; 36 (20): 7025-7039

    View details for DOI 10.1175/JCLI-D-22-0501.1

    View details for Web of Science ID 001150576000002

  • Coastal Polynyas Enable Transitions Between High and Low West Antarctic Ice Shelf Melt Rates GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS Moorman, R., Thompson, A. F., Wilson, E. A. 2023; 50 (16)

    View details for DOI 10.1029/2023GL104724

    View details for Web of Science ID 001053825800001

  • Commercial krill fishing within a foraging supergroup of fin whales in the Southern Ocean. Ecology Ryan, C., Santangelo, M., Stephenson, B., Branch, T. A., Wilson, E. A., Savoca, M. S. 2023: e4002

    View details for DOI 10.1002/ecy.4002

    View details for PubMedID 36807151

  • Tracking Southern Ocean Sea Ice Extent With Winter Water: A New Method Based on the Oxygen Isotopic Signature of Foraminifera PALEOCEANOGRAPHY AND PALEOCLIMATOLOGY Lund, D. C., Chase, Z., Kohfeld, K. E., Wilson, E. A. 2021; 36 (6)

    View details for DOI 10.1029/2020PA004095

    View details for Web of Science ID 000665065500010

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2329-5115