Oceans

Covering two-thirds of the Earth's surface, the oceans are a major player in the life of the planet. The oceans affect weather and climate by interacting strongly with the atmosphere, and provide immense energy and food resources as well as recreation and transportation benefits to society.

Researchers at Atmospheric and Environmental Research (AER) are active participants in the age of ocean discovery:

• Showing how ocean currents can redistribute mass and cause the Earth to wobble
• Detailing how atmospheric pressure can set the global oceans ringing at their preferred natural frequencies of oscillation
• Clarifying the causes of global and regional sea level change
• Revealing the complex role of ocean currents on global heat transport and the Earth's climate
• Developing advanced modeling and assimilation procedures for estimating the evolving global ocean circulation

AER's expertise in ocean science is shared through a variety of applied and basic research in oceanography and related fields of marine meteorology, geodesy, data assimilation and modeling, remote sensing, and climate dynamics.