We have explored the dynamics and energy budgets of the oceanic general circulation and its associated mesoscale eddy field in a number of papers employing idealized models, realistic ocean general circulation models, in-situ observations, and satellite observations. Specific topics of interest include the impact of bottom boundary layer drag and topographic wave drag on eddy statistics and eddy dynamics, the oceanic inverse energy cascade, the dynamics of jets and vortices, the use of higher-order stencils to compute geostrophic velocities from altimeter observations of sea surface heights, and comparison of modeled kinetic and potential energies to energies derived from altimeter observations and observations from various in-situ platforms including current meters, drifters, and Argo floats.

Our research focuses on the use of numerical models to better understand the dynamics and energy budgets of both wind- and tidally-forced flows in the ocean.

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