Group Members

About Brian K. Arbic

I am a physical oceanographer. The main tools used by my group at the University of Michigan are numerical models, which we frequently compare to both in-situ and satellite observations. Our main research interests are in global modeling of past and present barotropic tides, global modeling of internal tides and the internal gravity wave continuum, the dynamics and energy budgets of the oceanic general circulation and mesoscale eddies (the oceanic equivalent of weather systems), and the variability of the coupled atmosphere-ocean system. We have also studied tsunamis, and we have a growing interest in application of ocean models to deep-time Earth system science problems. I teach introductory and advanced courses in oceanography at the University of Michigan, and I founded a summer school on oceanography and environmental sciences in Ghana, West Africa.

My primary tools are numerical models of the ocean. I use both realistic models, such as the HYbrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM) being used as a U.S. Navy ocean forecast model, and idealized models. I frequently compare the outputs of such models to oceanic observations, taken with a variety of instruments. Comparison of models and observations helps us to improve our models as well as our ideas about how the ocean works.

My research has often been interdisciplinary, involving collaborations with scientists outside of my discipline, such as geophysicists, geodynamicists, glaciologists, geochemists, geobiologists, and other physical oceanographers.

Group Members

We use realistic numerical models, idealized numerical models, analysis of in-situ and remotely sensed observations, and model/data comparison to better understand the dynamics and energy budgets of wind-driven and tidal motions in the ocean. Our research is interdisciplinary, often involving collaborations with geophysicists, geodynamicists, glaciologists, geochemists, geobiologists, and other physical oceanographers.