Academic Appointments

Administrative Appointments

  • Undergraduate Research Assistant, Center for Nonlinear Science, Department of Physics, University of California at Santa Barbara (1995 - 1997)
  • Research Assistant, School of Oceanography, University of Washington (1997 - 2003)
  • Postdoctoral Research Associate School of Oceanography and Applied Physics Laboratory, University of Washington (2004 - 2005)
  • Assistant Scientist, Department of Physical Oceanography, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (2005 - 2008)
  • Assistant Professor of Environmental Earth System Science, Stanford University (2008 - Present)

Honors & Awards

  • H. Burr Steinbach Visiting Scholar, Physical Oceanography, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (2018)
  • Editors’ Citation for Excellence in Refereeing for Journal of Geophysical Research- Oceans, American Geophysical Union (2013)
  • Nicholas P. Fofonoff Award, American Meteorological Society (2013)
  • Editors’ Citation for Excellence in Refereeing for Journal of Geophysical Research- Oceans, American Geophysical Union (2012)
  • Editor's Award Journal of Physical Oceanography, American Meteorological Society (2011)
  • Terman Fellow, Stanford University (2008 - Present)
  • Invited participant, Physical Oceanography Dissertation Symposium (2003)
  • Arnold T. Nordsieck Memorial Prize for outstanding undergraduate research, Department of Physics, University of California at Santa Barbara (1997)
  • Highest Honors, University California Santa Barbara (1997)

Boards, Advisory Committees, Professional Organizations

  • Local organizing committee, 67th Annual Meeting of the APS Division of Fluid Dynamics (2014 - 2014)
  • Co-organizer EESS Seminar Series (Spring), Stanford (2014 - 2014)
  • Co-organizer Fluid Mechanics Seminar Series (Spring), Stanford (2014 - 2014)
  • Invited Speaker, Ocean Seminar Series, University of Washington (2014 - 2014)
  • Invited Speaker, EESS Dept Seminar, Stanford (2014 - 2014)
  • Invited Speaker, 33rd CNLS Annual Conference, Ocean Turbulence, Santa Fe (2013 - 2013)
  • Host, Stanford's Summer Research Program for Teachers, Stanford University (2013 - 2013)
  • Invited Speaker, Gordon Research Conference on Coastal Ocean Circulation (2013 - 2013)
  • Earth Systems Oceans Track Revision Committee, Stanford University (2013 - 2013)
  • Invited Speaker, Physical Oceanography Seminar Series, Oregon State University (2013 - 2013)
  • Invited Speaker, Fluid Mechanics Seminar, Stanford University (2013 - 2013)
  • Invited Speaker, Climate Seminar, Harvard University (2013 - 2013)
  • Invited Speaker, Geology & Geophysics Department Colloquium, Yale University (2013 - 2013)
  • Program Chair, 19th Conference on Atmospheric and Oceanic Fluid Dynamics, Providence, American Meteorological Society (2013 - 2013)
  • LatMix meeting organizer, Stanford University (2013 - 2013)
  • Invited Speaker, AGU Fall Meeting, Session on The Fluid Dynamics of Planets and Stars, American Geophysical Union (2012 - 2012)
  • Convener, AGU Fall Meeting Session on Physics and Biogeochemistry of Submesoscale Processes, American Geophysical Union (2012 - 2012)
  • Earth Systems Executive Committee, Stanford University (2012 - Present)
  • Organizer, Fluid Mechanics Seminar Series, Stanford (Spring Quarter), Stanford University (2012 - 2012)
  • Invited participant, Workshop on Inertial Oscillation Physics and Lagrangian Methods, RSMAS, Miami (2012 - 2012)
  • Invited presenter, US CLIVAR Summit, U.S. Climate Variability and Predictability Research Program (2012 - 2012)
  • Participant, CLIMODE workshop, WHOI, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (2012 - 2012)
  • Participant, LATMIX research cruise (Feb 22-Mar 17), Scalable Lateral Mixing and Coherent Turbulence (LATMIX) (2012 - 2012)
  • Invited Speaker, Climate, Atmospheric Science and Physical Oceanography Seminar Series, Scripps Institution of Oceanography (2012 - 2012)
  • Invited Speaker, Climate and Global Dynamics Seminar Series, NCAR, National Center for Atmospheric Research (2011 - 2011)
  • Workshop Participant, Balance, Boundaries and Mixing in the Climate Problem, Montreal, Centre de Recherches Mathematiques (2011 - 2011)
  • Committee Member, Atmospheric and Oceanic Fluid Dynamics, American Meteorological Society Scientific and Technological Activities Commission (2011 - Present)
  • Invited Speaker, Fluid Mechanics Seminar, Stanford University (2011 - 2011)
  • Participant, ONR Lateral Mixing DRI Planning Meeting, UCLA, ONR (2011 - 2011)
  • Lab demo presentation to Summer Research Program for Teachers, Stanford University (2011 - 2011)
  • EESS Graduate Admissions Committee, Stanford University (2010 - Present)
  • Guest Editor, Special Issue on Subtropical Mode Water in the North Atlantic Ocean, Deep Sea Research II (2010 - 2012)
  • Invited Speaker, Below the Rossby Radius: Workshop on Small-Scale Variability in the General Circulation of the Atmosphere and Oceans, University of Hamburg (2010 - 2010)
  • Invited Speaker, Conference on "The next big climate challenge: influence of meso- and submesoscale ocean dynamics on the global carbon cycle and marine ecosystems", France, International Conference (2010 - 2010)
  • Co-convener AGU Ocean Sciences Meeting Session on Biological-Physical Interactions at Submesoscales, American Geophysical Union (2010 - 2010)
  • Co-chair AGU Ocean Sciences Meeting Session on "Submesoscales: From Space to the Ocean Interior", American Geophysical Union (2010 - 2010)
  • Invited Speaker, Geophysics Dept Seminar, Stanford University (2010 - 2010)
  • Earth Systems Program Committee of the Whole, Stanford University (2009 - Present)
  • Invited Speaker, Tenth Annual CAOS Workshop on "Oceanography at the observational and modeling frontier: Submesoscale Dynamics", NYU, Center for Atmosphere Ocean Science (2009 - 2009)
  • Invited Speaker, Ocean Sciences Dept., University of California, Santa Cruz (2009 - 2009)
  • Invited Speaker, School of Earth Sciences Advisory Board, Stanford University (2009 - 2009)
  • Participant, ONR Symposium, Chicago, ONR (2009 - 2009)
  • Co-lecturer, School of Engineering EDay:PlanIt Green, Stanford University (2009 - 2009)
  • Invited Speaker, EESS Dept Seminar, Stanford University (2009 - 2009)
  • Participant, ONR Lateral Mixing DRI Planning Meeting, Seattle, ONR (2009 - 2009)
  • EESS Departmental Seminar Organizer, Stanford University (2008 - 2009)
  • SES Faculty Search Committee for Marine Chemist/Geochemist, Stanford University (2008 - 2009)
  • Participant, workshop on "Teaching Weather and Climate Using Laboratory Experiments", University of Chicago (2008 - 2008)
  • Participant, CLIMODE workshop, WHOI, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (2008 - 2008)
  • Participant, ONR Lateral Mixing DRI Planning Meeting, Monterey, ONR (2008 - 2008)
  • CLIMODE workshop organizer, Stanford University (2008 - 2008)
  • Invited Speaker, AGU Fall Meeting, 2008, Session on "Formation, Evolution, and Impact of Mode Waters", American Geophysical Union (2008 - 2008)

Professional Education

  • Ph.D., University of Washington, Physical Oceanography (2003)
  • B.S., College of Creative Studies, University of California at Santa Barbara, Physics (1997)

Contact

  • Academic
    leift@stanford.edu
    University - Faculty Department: Department of Earth System Science Position: Professor
    • 473 Via Ortega Y2E2 Bldg
    • Stanford University MC 4216
    • Stanford,  California  94305 

Additional Info

  • Mail Code: 4216

Links

Current Research and Scholarly Interests

Research
My research interests center on the physics of the ocean circulation. Specifically, I seek to understand the dynamics of highly energetic, time-variable flows such as ocean fronts, vortices, and eddies. Such flows efficiently exchange heat, salt, nutrients, and dissolved gases between the surface of the ocean and the ocean interior and hence play an important role in the Earth's climate and the oceanic sequestration of carbon. I use theory, computer modeling, and field observations to characterize the fundamental physics of the ocean circulation with the goal of improving the oceanic component of computer models used to predict future climate change.

Teaching
I teach a graduate-level course in geophysical fluid dynamics and an introductory-level course on atmosphere, ocean, and climate dynamics, with emphasis on the large-scale circulation of the atmosphere and the ocean. I also co-teach a course on Earth System Dynamics. In the future, I plan to offer courses on upper-ocean processes and numerical modeling of the ocean circulation at regional and large-scales.

Professional Activities
Assistant Scientist, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (2005-08); invited speaker, Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Summer Program, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (2007); member of the American Geophysical Union and American Meteorological Society; session co-chair AGU Ocean Sciences Meeting, Eddies, Fronts and Sub-Mesoscale Processes In The Upper Ocean (2008); member of the NSF funded Climate Process Team on Eddy Mixed Layer Interactions; reviewer for NSF, NOAA and several scientific journals

2024-25 Courses

Stanford Advisees

All Publications

  • Transport Pathways for Iron Supply to the Australian Antarctic Ridge Phytoplankton Bloom GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS Ledesma, A., Thomas, L. N. 2024; 51 (14)

    View details for DOI 10.1029/2023GL108001

    View details for Web of Science ID 001268988400001

  • Blocked Drainpipes and Smoking Chimneys: Discovery of New Near-Inertial Wave Phenomena in Anticyclones Oceanography Thomas, L. N., Moum, J. N., Qu, L., Hilditch, J. P., Kunze, E., Rainville, L., Lee, C. M. 2024

    View details for DOI 10.5670/oceanog.2024.304

  • Why Near-Inertial Waves Are Less Affected by Vorticity in the Northeast Pacific Than in the North Atlantic Oceanography Thomas, L. N., Kelly, S. M., Klenz, T., Young, W. R., Rainville, L., Simmons, H., Hormann, V., Stokes, I. 2024

    View details for DOI 10.5670/oceanog.2024.301

  • Damping of Inertial Motions through the Radiation of Near-Inertial Waves in a Dipole Vortex in the Iceland Basin JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY Thomas, L. N., Skyllingstad, E. D., Rainville, L., Hormann, V., Centurioni, L., Moum, J. N., Asselin, O., Lee, C. M. 2023; 53 (8): 1821-1833

    View details for DOI 10.1175/JPO-D-22-0202.1

    View details for Web of Science ID 001045987300001

  • Parametric subharmonic instability of inertial shear at ocean fronts JOURNAL OF FLUID MECHANICS Hilditch, J. P., Thomas, L. N. 2023; 966

    View details for DOI 10.1017/jfm.2023.452

    View details for Web of Science ID 001028820600001

  • Turbulence Generated through Critical Reflection of Internal Waves off the Seafloor due to Nontraditional Effects JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY Delorme, B., Thomas, L. 2023; 53 (3): 699-718

    View details for DOI 10.1175/JPO-D-22-0077.1

    View details for Web of Science ID 000939401500002

  • Mixing Driven by Critical Reflection of Near-Inertial Waves over the Texas-Louisiana Shelf JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY Qu, L., Thomas, L. N., Hetland, R. D., Kobashi, D. 2022; 52 (11): 2891-2906

    View details for DOI 10.1175/JPO-D-22-0004.1

    View details for Web of Science ID 000884471500018

  • Rapid vertical exchange at fronts in the Northern Gulf of Mexico. Nature communications Qu, L., Thomas, L. N., Wienkers, A. F., Hetland, R. D., Kobashi, D., Taylor, J. R., Hsu, F. H., MacKinnon, J. A., Shearman, R. K., Nash, J. D. 2022; 13 (1): 5624

    Abstract

    Over the Texas-Louisiana Shelf in the Northern Gulf of Mexico, the eutrophic, fresh Mississippi/Atchafalaya river plume isolates saltier waters below, supporting the formation of bottom hypoxia in summer. The plume also generates strong density fronts, features of the circulation that are known pathways for the exchange of water between the ocean surface and the deep. Using high-resolution ocean observations and numerical simulations, we demonstrate how the summer land-sea breeze generates rapid vertical exchange at the plume fronts. We show that the interaction between the land-sea breeze and the fronts leads to convergence/divergence in the surface mixed layer, which further facilitates a slantwise circulation that subducts surface water along isopycnals into the interior and upwells bottom waters to the surface. This process causes significant vertical displacements of water parcels and creates a ventilation pathway for the bottom water in the northern Gulf. The ventilation of bottom water can bypass the stratification barrier associated with the Mississippi/Atchafalaya river plume and might impact the dynamics of the region's dead zone.

    View details for DOI 10.1038/s41467-022-33251-7

    View details for PubMedID 36163322

  • The lifecycle of surface-generated near-inertial waves Ocean Mixing: Drivers, Mechanisms and Impacts Thomas, L. N., Zhai, X. Elsevier. 2022: 95-115

    View details for DOI 10.1016/B978-0-12-821512-8.00012-8

  • The influence of front strength on the development and equilibration of symmetric instability. Part 1. Growth and saturation JOURNAL OF FLUID MECHANICS Wienkers, A. F., Thomas, L. N., Taylor, J. R. 2021; 926

    View details for DOI 10.1017/jfm.2021.680

    View details for Web of Science ID 000692839100001

  • The influence of front strength on the development and equilibration of symmetric instability. Part 2. Nonlinear evolution JOURNAL OF FLUID MECHANICS Wienkers, A. F., Thomas, L. N., Taylor, J. R. 2021; 926

    View details for DOI 10.1017/jfm.2021.684

    View details for Web of Science ID 000692839500001

  • Bottom Mixing Enhanced by Tropical Storm-Generated Near-Inertial Waves Entering Critical Layers in the Straits of Florida GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS Qu, L., Thomas, L., Gula, J. 2021; 48 (15)

    View details for DOI 10.1029/2021GL093773

    View details for Web of Science ID 000683512200026

  • A warm jet in a cold ocean. Nature communications MacKinnon, J. A., Simmons, H. L., Hargrove, J., Thomson, J., Peacock, T., Alford, M. H., Barton, B. I., Boury, S., Brenner, S. D., Couto, N., Danielson, S. L., Fine, E. C., Graber, H. C., Guthrie, J., Hopkins, J. E., Jayne, S. R., Jeon, C., Klenz, T., Lee, C. M., Lenn, Y., Lucas, A. J., Lund, B., Mahaffey, C., Norman, L., Rainville, L., Smith, M. M., Thomas, L. N., Torres-Valdes, S., Wood, K. R. 2021; 12 (1): 2418

    Abstract

    Unprecedented quantities of heat are entering the Pacific sector of the Arctic Ocean through Bering Strait, particularly during summer months. Though some heat is lost to the atmosphere during autumn cooling, a significant fraction of the incoming warm, salty water subducts (dives beneath) below a cooler fresher layer of near-surface water, subsequently extending hundreds of kilometers into the Beaufort Gyre. Upward turbulent mixing of these sub-surface pockets of heat is likely accelerating sea ice melt in the region. This Pacific-origin water brings both heat and unique biogeochemical properties, contributing to a changing Arctic ecosystem. However, our ability to understand or forecast the role of this incoming water mass has been hampered by lack of understanding of the physical processes controlling subduction and evolution of this this warm water. Crucially, the processes seen here occur at small horizontal scales not resolved by regional forecast models or climate simulations; new parameterizations must be developed that accurately represent the physics. Here we present novel high resolution observations showing the detailed process of subduction and initial evolution of warm Pacific-origin water in the southern Beaufort Gyre.

    View details for DOI 10.1038/s41467-021-22505-5

    View details for PubMedID 33893280

  • Near-Inertial-Wave Critical Layers over Sloping Bathymetry JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY Qu, L., Thomas, L., Hetland, R. 2021; 51 (6): 1737--1756

    View details for DOI 10.1175/JPO-D-20-0221.1

  • Intra-Annual Rossby Waves Destabilization as a Potential Driver of Low-Latitude Zonal Jets: Barotropic Dynamics JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY Delpech, A., Menesguen, C., Morel, Y., Thomas, L. N., Marin, F., Cravatte, S., Le Gentil, S. 2021; 51 (2): 365-384

    View details for DOI 10.1175/JPO-D-20-0180.1

    View details for Web of Science ID 000646377800006

  • Enhanced Abyssal Mixing in the Equatorial Pacific Associated with Non-Traditional Effects Journal of Physical Oceanography Delorme, B. L., Thomas, L. N., Marchesiello, P., Gula, J., Roullet, G., Molemaker, M. 2021; 51 (6): 1895–1914

    View details for DOI 10.1175/JPO-D-20-0238.1

  • Refraction and Straining of Near-Inertial Waves by Barotropic Eddies JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY Asselin, O., Thomas, L. N., Young, W. R., Rainville, L. 2020; 50 (12): 3439–54

    View details for DOI 10.1175/JPO-D-20-0109.1

    View details for Web of Science ID 000617337100005

  • Direct Observations of Near-Inertial Wave zeta-Refraction in a Dipole Vortex GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS Thomas, L. N., Rainville, L., Asselin, O., Young, W. R., Girton, J., Whalen, C. B., Centurioni, L., Hormann, V. 2020; 47 (21)

    View details for DOI 10.1029/2020GL090375

    View details for Web of Science ID 000593976300024

  • Centrifugal and Symmetric Instability during Ekman Adjustment of the Bottom Boundary Layer JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY Wenegrat, J. O., Thomas, L. N. 2020; 50 (6): 1793–1812

    View details for DOI 10.1175/JPO-D-20-0027.1

    View details for Web of Science ID 000589823100014

  • Restratification at a California Current Upwelling Front. Part II: Dynamics JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY Johnson, L., Lee, C. M., D'Asaro, E., Wenegrat, J. O., Thomas, L. N. 2020; 50 (5): 1473–87

    View details for DOI 10.1175/JPO-D-19-0204.1

    View details for Web of Science ID 000536602000019

  • Restratification at a California Current Upwelling Front. Part I: Observations JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY Johnson, L., Lee, C. M., D'Asaro, E., Thomas, L., Shcherbina, A. 2020; 50 (5): 1455–72

    View details for DOI 10.1175/JPO-D-19-0203.1

    View details for Web of Science ID 000536602000018

  • Enhanced mixing across the gyre boundary at the Gulf Stream front. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Wenegrat, J. O., Thomas, L. N., Sundermeyer, M. A., Taylor, J. R., D'Asaro, E. A., Klymak, J. M., Shearman, R. K., Lee, C. M. 2020

    Abstract

    The Gulf Stream front separates the North Atlantic subtropical and subpolar ocean gyres, water masses with distinct physical and biogeochemical properties. Exchange across the front is believed to be necessary to balance the freshwater budget of the subtropical gyre and to support the biological productivity of the region; however, the physical mechanisms responsible have been the subject of long-standing debate. Here, the evolution of a passive dye released within the north wall of the Gulf Stream provides direct observational evidence of enhanced mixing across the Gulf Stream front. Numerical simulations indicate that the observed rapid cross-frontal mixing occurs via shear dispersion, generated by frontal instabilities and episodic vertical mixing. This provides unique direct evidence for the role of submesoscale fronts in generating lateral mixing, a mechanism which has been hypothesized to be of general importance for setting the horizontal structure of the ocean mixed layer. Along the Gulf Stream front in the North Atlantic, these observations further suggest that shear dispersion at sharp fronts may provide a source of freshwater flux large enough to explain much of the freshwater deficit in the subtropical-mode water budget and a flux of nutrients comparable to other mechanisms believed to control primary productivity in the subtropical gyre.

    View details for DOI 10.1073/pnas.2005558117

    View details for PubMedID 32651275

  • Enhanced Radiation of Near-Inertial Energy by Frontal Vertical Circulations JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY Thomas, L. N. 2019; 49 (9): 2407–21

    View details for DOI 10.1175/JPO-D-19-0027.1

    View details for Web of Science ID 000485230700002

  • Rapid mixing and exchange of deep-ocean waters in an abyssal boundary current. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Naveira Garabato, A. C., Frajka-Williams, E. E., Spingys, C. P., Legg, S., Polzin, K. L., Forryan, A., Abrahamsen, E. P., Buckingham, C. E., Griffies, S. M., McPhail, S. D., Nicholls, K. W., Thomas, L. N., Meredith, M. P. 2019

    Abstract

    The overturning circulation of the global ocean is critically shaped by deep-ocean mixing, which transforms cold waters sinking at high latitudes into warmer, shallower waters. The effectiveness of mixing in driving this transformation is jointly set by two factors: the intensity of turbulence near topography and the rate at which well-mixed boundary waters are exchanged with the stratified ocean interior. Here, we use innovative observations of a major branch of the overturning circulation-an abyssal boundary current in the Southern Ocean-to identify a previously undocumented mixing mechanism, by which deep-ocean waters are efficiently laundered through intensified near-boundary turbulence and boundary-interior exchange. The linchpin of the mechanism is the generation of submesoscale dynamical instabilities by the flow of deep-ocean waters along a steep topographic boundary. As the conditions conducive to this mode of mixing are common to many abyssal boundary currents, our findings highlight an imperative for its representation in models of oceanic overturning.

    View details for DOI 10.1073/pnas.1904087116

    View details for PubMedID 31213535

  • Abyssal Mixing through Critical Reflection of Equatorially Trapped Waves off Smooth Topography JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY Delorme, B. L., Thomas, L. N. 2019; 49 (2): 519–42

    View details for DOI 10.1175/JPO-D-18-0197.1

    View details for Web of Science ID 000458392600002

  • Submesoscale Baroclinic Instability in the Bottom Boundary Layer JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY Wenegrat, J. O., Callies, J., Thomas, L. N. 2018; 48 (11): 2571–92

    View details for DOI 10.1175/JPO-D-17-0264.1

    View details for Web of Science ID 000448513000003

  • Effects of the Submesoscale on the Potential Vorticity Budget of Ocean Mode Waters JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY Wenegrat, J. O., Thomas, L. N., Gula, J., McWilliams, J. C. 2018; 48 (9): 2141–65

    View details for DOI 10.1175/JPO-D-17-0219.1

    View details for Web of Science ID 000444387800001

  • Aerial Observations of Symmetric Instability at the North Wall of the Gulf Stream GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS Savelyev, I., Thomas, L. N., Smith, G. B., Wang, Q., Shearman, R. K., Haack, T., Christman, A. J., Blomquist, B., Sletten, M., Miller, W. D., Fernando, H. S. 2018; 45 (1): 236–44

    View details for DOI 10.1002/2017GL075735

    View details for Web of Science ID 000423431800027

  • Interaction of Superinertial Waves with Submesoscale Cyclonic Filaments in the North Wall of the Gulf Stream JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY Whitt, D. B., Thomas, L. N., Klymak, J. M., Lee, C. M., D'Asaro, E. A. 2018; 48 (1): 81–99

    View details for DOI 10.1175/JPO-D-17-0079.1

    View details for Web of Science ID 000429411000005

  • On the modifications of near-inertial waves at fronts: implications for energy transfer across scales OCEAN DYNAMICS Thomas, L. N. 2017; 67 (10): 1335–50

    View details for DOI 10.1007/s10236-017-1088-6

    View details for Web of Science ID 000410721300007

  • Ekman Transport in Balanced Currents with Curvature JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY Wenegrat, J. O., Thomas, L. N. 2017; 47 (5): 1189-1203

    View details for DOI 10.1175/JPO-D-16-0239.1

    View details for Web of Science ID 000401462000014

  • Using local knowledge to project sea level rise impacts on wave resources in California OCEAN & COASTAL MANAGEMENT Reineman, D. R., Thomas, L. N., Caldwell, M. R. 2017; 138: 181-191

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2017.01.020

    View details for Web of Science ID 000395603700018

  • A New Mechanism for Mode Water Formation involving Cabbeling and Frontogenetic Strain at Thermohaline Fronts. Part II: Numerical simulations Journal of Physical Oceanography Shakespeare, C. J., Thomas, L. N. 2017

    View details for DOI 10.1175/JPO-D-17-0001.1

  • Downfront Winds over Buoyant Coastal Plumes JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY Spall, M. A., Thomas, L. N. 2016; 46 (10): 3139-3154

    View details for DOI 10.1175/JPO-D-16-0042.1

    View details for Web of Science ID 000386330000011

  • Recent amplification of the North American winter temperature dipole JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-ATMOSPHERES Singh, D., Swain, D. L., Mankin, J. S., Horton, D. E., Thomas, L. N., Rajaratnam, B., Diffenbaugh, N. S. 2016; 121 (17): 9911-9928

    Abstract

    During the winters of 2013-2014 and 2014-2015, anomalously warm temperatures in western North America and anomalously cool temperatures in eastern North America resulted in substantial human and environmental impacts. Motivated by the impacts of these concurrent temperature extremes and the intrinsic atmospheric linkage between weather conditions in the western and eastern United States, we investigate the occurrence of concurrent "warm-West/cool-East" surface temperature anomalies, which we call the "North American winter temperature dipole." We find that, historically, warm-West/cool-East dipole conditions have been associated with anomalous mid-tropospheric ridging over western North America and downstream troughing over eastern North America. We also find that the occurrence and severity of warm-West/cool-East events have increased significantly between 1980 and 2015, driven largely by an increase in the frequency with which high-amplitude "ridge-trough" wave patterns result in simultaneous severe temperature conditions in both the West and East. Using a large single-model ensemble of climate simulations, we show that the observed positive trend in the warm-West/cool-East events is attributable to historical anthropogenic emissions including greenhouse gases, but that the co-occurrence of extreme western warmth and eastern cold will likely decrease in the future as winter temperatures warm dramatically across the continent, thereby reducing the occurrence of severely cold conditions in the East. Although our analysis is focused on one particular region, our analysis framework is generally transferable to the physical conditions shaping different types of extreme events around the globe.

    View details for DOI 10.1002/2016JD025116

    View details for Web of Science ID 000384823000024

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC5095811

  • Modulation of Tropical Instability Wave Intensity by Equatorial Kelvin Waves JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY Holmes, R. M., Thomas, L. N. 2016; 46 (9): 2623-2643

    View details for DOI 10.1175/JPO-D-16-0064.1

    View details for Web of Science ID 000384024900004

  • Submesoscale streamers exchange water on the north wall of the Gulf Stream GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS Klymak, J. M., Shearman, R. K., Gula, J., Lee, C. M., D'Asaro, E. A., Thomas, L. N., Harcourt, R. R., Shcherbina, A. Y., Sundermeyer, M. A., Molemaker, J., McWilliams, J. C. 2016; 43 (3): 1226-1233

    View details for DOI 10.1002/2015GL067152

    View details for Web of Science ID 000372056600035

  • Evidence for seafloor-intensified mixing by surface-generated equatorial waves GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS Holmes, R. M., Moum, J. N., Thomas, L. N. 2016; 43 (3): 1202-1210

    View details for DOI 10.1002/2015GL066472

    View details for Web of Science ID 000372056600032

  • Energy Exchanges between Density Fronts and Near-Inertial Waves Reflecting off the Ocean Surface JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY Grisouard, N., Thomas, L. N. 2016; 46 (2): 501-516

    View details for DOI 10.1175/JPO-D-15-0072.1

    View details for Web of Science ID 000372707100001

  • Symmetric Instability, Inertial Oscillations, and Turbulence at the Gulf Stream Front JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY Thomas, L. N., Taylor, J. R., D'Asaro, E. A., Lee, C. M., Klymak, J. M., Shcherbina, A. 2016; 46 (1): 197-217

    View details for DOI 10.1175/JPO-D-15-0008.1

    View details for Web of Science ID 000368627800002

  • Parameterization of Frontal Symmetric Instabilities. I: Theory for Resolved Fronts Ocean Modelling Bachman, S. D., Fox-Kemper, B., Taylor, J. R., Thomas, L. N. 2016; 109

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.ocemod.2016.12.003

  • A New Mechanism for Mode Water Formation involving Cabbeling and Frontogenetic Strain at Thermohaline Fronts JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY Thomas, L. N., Shakespeare, C. J. 2015; 45 (9): 2444-2456

    View details for DOI 10.1175/JPO-D-15-0007.1

    View details for Web of Science ID 000361036500016

  • The LatMix Summer Campaign: Submesoscale Stirring in the Upper Ocean BULLETIN OF THE AMERICAN METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY Shcherbina, A. Y., Sundermeyer, M. A., Kunze, E., D'Asaro, E., Badin, G., Birch, D., Brunner-Suzuki, A. E., Callies, J., Cervantes, B. T., Claret, M., Concannon, B., Early, J., Ferrari, R., Goodman, L., Harcourt, R. R., Klymak, J. M., Lee, C. M., Lelong, M., Levine, M. D., Lien, R., Mahadevan, A., McWilliams, J. C., Molemaker, M. J., Mukherjee, S., Nash, J. D., Oezgoekmen, T., Pierce, S. D., Ramachandran, S., Samelson, R. M., Sanford, T. B., Shearman, R. K., Skyllingstad, E. D., Smith, K. S., Tandon, A., Taylor, J. R., Terray, E. A., Thomas, L. N., Ledwell, J. R. 2015; 96 (8)

    View details for DOI 10.1175/BAMS-D-14-00015.1

    View details for Web of Science ID 000361365600001

  • The Modulation of Equatorial Turbulence by Tropical Instability Waves in a Regional Ocean Model JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY Holmes, R. M., Thomas, L. N. 2015; 45 (4): 1155-1173

    View details for DOI 10.1175/JPO-D-14-0209.1

    View details for Web of Science ID 000352542800013

  • Critical and near-critical reflections of near-inertial waves off the sea surface at ocean fronts JOURNAL OF FLUID MECHANICS Grisouard, N., Thomas, L. N. 2015; 765

    View details for DOI 10.1017/jfm.2014.725

    View details for Web of Science ID 000348130700013

  • Resonant Generation and Energetics of Wind-Forced Near-Inertial Motions in a Geostrophic Flow JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY Whitt, D. B., Thomas, L. N. 2015; 45 (1): 181-208

    View details for DOI 10.1175/JPO-D-14-0168.1

    View details for Web of Science ID 000347535800010

  • Rapid Generation of Upwelling at a Shelf Break Caused by Buoyancy Shutdown JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY Benthuysen, J., Thomas, L. N., Lentz, S. J. 2015; 45 (1): 294-312

    View details for DOI 10.1175/JPO-D-14-0104.1

    View details for Web of Science ID 000347535800016

  • Role of shelfbreak upwelling in the formation of a massive under-ice bloom in the Chukchi Sea DEEP-SEA RESEARCH PART II-TOPICAL STUDIES IN OCEANOGRAPHY Spall, M. A., Pickart, R. S., Brugler, E. T., Moore, G. W., Thomas, L., Arrigo, K. R. 2014; 105: 17-29

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.dsr2.2014.03.017

    View details for Web of Science ID 000338978700002

  • Potential Vorticity Dynamics of Tropical Instability Vortices JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY Holmes, R. M., Thomas, L. N., Thompson, L., Darr, D. 2014; 44 (3): 995-1011

    View details for DOI 10.1175/JPO-D-13-0157.1

    View details for Web of Science ID 000332425700026

  • Damping of inertial motions by parametric subharmonic instability in baroclinic currents JOURNAL OF FLUID MECHANICS Thomas, L. N., Taylor, J. R. 2014; 743: 280-294

    View details for DOI 10.1017/jfm.2014.29

    View details for Web of Science ID 000332844200014

  • Symmetric instability in the Gulf Stream DEEP-SEA RESEARCH PART II-TOPICAL STUDIES IN OCEANOGRAPHY Thomas, L. N., Taylor, J. R., Ferrari, R., Joyce, T. M. 2013; 91: 96-110

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.dsr2.2013.02.025

    View details for Web of Science ID 000320150800008

  • Eighteen Degree Water formation within the Gulf Stream during CLIMODE DEEP-SEA RESEARCH PART II-TOPICAL STUDIES IN OCEANOGRAPHY Joyce, T. M., Thomas, L. N., Dewar, W. K., Girton, J. B. 2013; 91: 1-10

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.dsr2.2013.02.019

    View details for Web of Science ID 000320150800001

  • Nonlinear stratified spindown over a slope JOURNAL OF FLUID MECHANICS Benthuysen, J. A., Thomas, L. N. 2013; 726: 371-403

    View details for DOI 10.1017/jfm.2013.231

    View details for Web of Science ID 000327870600003

  • Near-Inertial Waves in Strongly Baroclinic Currents JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY Whitt, D. B., Thomas, L. N. 2013; 43 (4): 706-725

    View details for DOI 10.1175/JPO-D-12-0132.1

    View details for Web of Science ID 000317917500003

  • A near-inertial mode observed within a Gulf Stream warm-core ring JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-OCEANS Joyce, T. M., Toole, J. M., Klein, P., Thomas, L. N. 2013; 118 (4): 1797-1806

    View details for DOI 10.1002/jgrc.20141

    View details for Web of Science ID 000320324100011

  • On the effects of frontogenetic strain on symmetric instability and inertia-gravity waves JOURNAL OF FLUID MECHANICS Thomas, L. N. 2012; 711: 620-640

    View details for DOI 10.1017/jfm.2012.416

    View details for Web of Science ID 000310881500025

  • Climatic variations of the work done by the wind on the ocean's general circulation JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-OCEANS Lauderdale, J. M., Garabato, A. C., Oliver, K. I., Thomas, L. N. 2012; 117

    View details for DOI 10.1029/2012JC008135

    View details for Web of Science ID 000308894100003

  • Friction and Diapycnal Mixing at a Slope: Boundary Control of Potential Vorticity JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY Benthuysen, J., Thomas, L. N. 2012; 42 (9): 1509-1523

    View details for DOI 10.1175/JPO-D-11-0130.1

    View details for Web of Science ID 000309018500008

  • Asymmetries in vertical vorticity and vertical velocity arising during nonlinear homogeneous spindown PHYSICS OF FLUIDS Benthuysen, J. A., Thomas, L. N. 2012; 24 (7)

    View details for DOI 10.1063/1.4731280

    View details for Web of Science ID 000308406000047

  • The Subpolar Front of the Japan/East Sea. Part III: Competing Roles of Frontal Dynamics and Atmospheric Forcing in Driving Ageostrophic Vertical Circulation and Subduction JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY Yoshikawa, Y., Lee, C. M., Thomas, L. N. 2012; 42 (6): 991-1011

    View details for DOI 10.1175/JPO-D-11-0154.1

    View details for Web of Science ID 000305845700007

  • Control of phytoplankton bloom inception in the Ross Sea, Antarctica, by Ekman restratification GLOBAL BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES Long, M. C., Thomas, L. N., Dunbar, R. B. 2012; 26

    View details for DOI 10.1029/2010GB003982

    View details for Web of Science ID 000299389500002

  • Enhanced Turbulence and Energy Dissipation at Ocean Fronts SCIENCE D'Asaro, E., Lee, C., Rainville, L., Harcourt, R., Thomas, L. 2011; 332 (6027): 318-322

    Abstract

    The ocean surface boundary layer mediates air-sea exchange. In the classical paradigm and in current climate models, its turbulence is driven by atmospheric forcing. Observations at a 1-kilometer-wide front within the Kuroshio Current indicate that the rate of energy dissipation within the boundary layer is enhanced by one to two orders of magnitude, suggesting that the front, rather than the atmospheric forcing, supplied the energy for the turbulence. The data quantitatively support the hypothesis that winds aligned with the frontal velocity catalyzed a release of energy from the front to the turbulence. The resulting boundary layer is stratified in contrast to the classically well-mixed layer. These effects will be strongest at the intense fronts found in the Kuroshio Current, the Gulf Stream, and the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, all of which are key players in the climate system.

    View details for DOI 10.1126/science.1201515

    View details for Web of Science ID 000289516600035

    View details for PubMedID 21393512

  • Reduction of the usable wind-work on the general circulation by forced symmetric instability GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS Thomas, L. N., Taylor, J. R. 2010; 37

    View details for DOI 10.1029/2010GL044680

    View details for Web of Science ID 000282432200004

  • Moored observations of bottom-intensified motions in the deep Canada Basin, Arctic Ocean JOURNAL OF MARINE RESEARCH Timmermans, M., Rainville, L., Thomas, L., Proshutinsky, A. 2010; 68 (3-4): 625-641

    View details for Web of Science ID 000287571300014

  • Subduction on the Northern and Southern Flanks of the Gulf Stream JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY Thomas, L. N., Joyce, T. M. 2010; 40 (2): 429-438

    View details for DOI 10.1175/2009JPO4187.1

    View details for Web of Science ID 000274330200013

  • The Subpolar Front of the Japan/East Sea. Part II: Inverse Method for Determining the Frontal Vertical Circulation JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY Thomas, L. N., Lee, C. M., Yoshikawa, Y. 2010; 40 (1): 3-25

    View details for DOI 10.1175/2009JPO4018.1

    View details for Web of Science ID 000273899200001

  • The CLIMODE FIELD CAMPAIGN Observing the Cycle of Convection and Restratification over the Gulf Stream BULLETIN OF THE AMERICAN METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY Marshall, J., Andersson, A., Bates, N., Dewar, W., Doney, S., Edson, J., FERRARI, R., Forget, G., Fratantoni, D., Gregg, M., Joyce, T., Kelly, K., Lozier, S., Lumpkin, R., Maze, G., Palter, J., Samelson, R., Silverthorne, K., Skyllingstad, E., Straneo, F., Talley, L., Thomas, L., Toole, J., Weller, R. 2009; 90 (9): 1337-1350

    View details for DOI 10.1175/2009BAMS2706.1

    View details for Web of Science ID 000270982600006

  • Wintertime observations of Subtropical Mode Water formation within the Gulf Stream GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS Joyce, T. M., Thomas, L. N., Bahr, F. 2009; 36

    View details for DOI 10.1029/2008GL035918

    View details for Web of Science ID 000262981800001

  • Ekman drift and vortical structures OCEAN MODELLING Morel, Y., Thomas, L. N. 2009; 27 (3-4): 185-197

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.ocemod.2009.01.002

    View details for Web of Science ID 000264976300006

  • Friction, Frontogenesis, and the Stratification of the Surface Mixed Layer JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY Thomas, L., Ferrari, R. 2008; 38 (11): 2501-2518

    View details for DOI 10.1175/2008JPO3797.1

    View details for Web of Science ID 000261559200008

  • Comment on "eddy/wind interactions stimulate extraordinary mid-ocean plankton blooms" SCIENCE Mahadevan, A., Thomas, L. N., Tandon, A. 2008; 320 (5875)

    Abstract

    McGillicuddy et al. (Reports, 18 May 2007, p. 1021) proposed that eddy/wind interactions enhance the vertical nutrient flux in mode-water eddies, thus feeding large mid-ocean plankton blooms. We argue that the supply of nutrients to ocean eddies is most likely affected by submesoscale processes that act along the periphery of eddies and can induce vertical velocities several times larger than those due to eddy/wind interactions.

    View details for DOI 10.1126/science.1152111

    View details for Web of Science ID 000255249300017

    View details for PubMedID 18436758

  • Sub-mesoscale processes and dynamics Ocean Modeling in an Eddying Regime Thomas, L. N., Tandon, A., Mahadevan, A. edited by Hecht , M. W., Hasumi, H. American Geophysical Union, Washington DC. 2008: 17–38

    View details for DOI 10.1029/177GM04

  • Formation of intrathermocline eddies at ocean fronts by wind-driven destruction of potential vorticity DYNAMICS OF ATMOSPHERES AND OCEANS Thomas, L. N. 2008; 45 (3-4): 252-273

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.dynatmoce.2008.02.002

  • Dynamical constraints on the extreme low values of the potential vorticity in the ocean Proceedings of the 15th 'Aha Huliko'a Hawaiian Winter Workshop Thomas, L. N. edited by Muller, P., Garrett, C., Henderson, D. 2007: 117–24
  • Vertical structure of time-dependent currents in a mid-ocean ridge axial valley DEEP-SEA RESEARCH PART I-OCEANOGRAPHIC RESEARCH PAPERS Berdeal, I. G., Hautala, S. L., Thomas, L. N., Johnson, H. P. 2006; 53 (2): 367-386

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.dsr.2005.10.004

    View details for Web of Science ID 000235876200011

  • Intermediate water formation at the Japan/East Sea subpolar front Oceanography Lee, C. M., Thomas, L. N. 2006; 19: 110-121

    View details for DOI 10.5670/oceanog.2006.48

  • Destruction of potential vorticity by winds JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY Thomas, L. N. 2005; 35 (12): 2457-2466

    View details for Web of Science ID 000234801800010

  • Intensification of ocean fronts by down-front winds JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY Thomas, L. N., Lee, C. M. 2005; 35 (6): 1086-1102

    View details for Web of Science ID 000230580500012

  • Nonlinear stratified spin-up JOURNAL OF FLUID MECHANICS Thomas, L. N., Rhines, P. B. 2002; 473: 211-244

    View details for DOI 10.1017/S0022112002002367

    View details for Web of Science ID 000179810400010

  • Rayleigh-Benard convection in a homeotropically aligned nematic liquid crystal PHYSICAL REVIEW E Thomas, L., Pesch, W., Ahlers, G. 1998; 58 (5): 5885-5897

    View details for Web of Science ID 000077052100086