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Craig Lee

Senior Principal Oceanographer and Assistant Director for Research

Professor, Oceanography

Email

craiglee@uw.edu

Phone

206-685-7656

Research Interests

Upper Ocean Dynamics, Coastal Ocean Processes, Internal Waves, Fronts, Dynamics and Biological Process Interactions

Biosketch

Dr. Lee is a physical oceanographer specializing in observations and instrument development. His primary scientific interests include: (1) upper ocean dynamics, especially mesoscale and submesocale fronts and eddies, (2) interactions between biology, biogeochemistry and ocean physics and (3) high-latitude oceanography.

With partner Dr. Jason Gobat, Lee founded and leads a team of scientists and technologists that pursues a wide range of oceanographic field programs, including intensive studies of the Kuroshio Current, coupled physical–biogeochemical studies such as the recent patch-scale investigation of the North Atlantic spring phytoplankton bloom and studies aimed at quantifying and understanding Arctic change. An important component of this work involves identifying advances that could be achieved through novel measurements and developing new instruments to meet these needs.

The team's accomplishments include autonomous gliders capable of extended operation in ice-covered waters, high-performance towed vehicles and light-weight, inexpensive mooring technologies. The team also pursues K-12 educational outreach and routinely employs undergraduate research assistants. Within the community, Lee provides leadership through service on the science steering committees for several large research programs and by serving on and chairing advisory panels for U.S. Arctic efforts. Lee supports and advises masters and doctoral students and teaches graduate level courses on observations of ocean circulation and instruments, methods and experimental design.

Department Affiliation

Ocean Physics

Education

B.S. Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of California, Berkeley, 1987

Ph.D. Physical Oceanography, University of Washington, 1995

Projects

Stratified Ocean Dynamics of the Arctic — SODA

Vertical and lateral water properties and density structure with the Arctic Ocean are intimately related to the ocean circulation, and have profound consequences for sea ice growth and retreat as well as for prpagation of acoustic energy at all scales. Our current understanding of the dynamics governing arctic upper ocean stratification and circulation derives largely from a period when extensive ice cover modulated the oceanic response to atmospheric forcing. Recently, however, there has been significant arctic warming, accompanied by changes in the extent, thickness distribution, and properties of the arctic sea ice cover. The need to understand these changes and their impact on arctic stratification and circulation, sea ice evolution, and the acoustic environment motivate this initiative.

31 Oct 2016

The Submesoscale Cascade in the South China Sea

This research program is investigating the evolution of submesoscale eddies and filaments in the Kuroshio-influenced region off the southwest coast of Taiwan.

More Info

26 Aug 2015

Science questions:
1. What role does the Kuroshio play in generating mesoscale and submesoscale variability modeled/observed off the SW coast of Taiwan?
2. How does this vary with atmospheric forcing?
3. How do these features evolve in response to wintertime (strong) atmospheric forcing?
4. What role do these dynamics play in driving water mass evolution and interior stratification in the South China Sea?
5. What role do these dynamics/features have on the transition of water masses from northern SCS water into the Kuroshio branch water/current and local flow patterns?

Salinity Processes in the Upper Ocean Regional Study — SPURS

The NASA SPURS research effort is actively addressing the essential role of the ocean in the global water cycle by measuring salinity and accumulating other data to improve our basic understanding of the ocean's water cycle and its ties to climate.

15 Apr 2015

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Videos

EXPORTS: Export Processes in the Ocean from RemoTe Sensing

The EXPORTS mission is to quantify how much of the atmospheric carbon dioxide fixed during primary production near the ocean surface is pumped to the deep twilight zone by biological processes, where it can be sequestered for months to millennia.

An integrated observation strategy leverages the precise, intense measurements made on ships, the persistent subsurface data collected by swimming and floating robots, and the global surface views provided by satellites.

18 Sep 2018

Eddies Drive Particulate Carbon Deep in the Ocean During the North Atlantic Spring Bloom

The swirling eddies that create patches of stratification to hold phytoplankton near the sunlit surface during the North Atlantic spring bloom, also inject the floating organic carbon particles deep into the ocean. The finding, reported in Science, has important implications for the ocean's role in the carbon cycle on Earth: phytoplankton use carbon dioxide absorbed by the ocean from the atmosphere during the bloom and the resulting organic carbon near the sea surface is sequestered in the deep ocean.

27 Mar 2015

Seaglider: Autonomous Undersea Vehicle

APL-UW scientists continually expand Seaglider's hardware/software systems, and sensor packages. First developed for oceanographic research, it is also used by the U.S. Navy to detect and monitor marine mammals. Recently, the manufacture and marketing of Seaglider has been licensed to Kongsberg Underwater Technology, Inc., which will push the vehicle to emerging markets in offshore environmental monitoring for the oil and gas industry.

14 Aug 2013

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Publications

2000-present and while at APL-UW

Blocked drainpipes and smoking chimneys: Discovery of new near-inertial wave phenomena in anticyclones

Thomas, L.N., J.N. Moum, L. Qu, J.P. Hilditch, E. Kunze, L. Rainville, and C.M. Lee, "Blocked drainpipes and smoking chimneys: Discovery of new near-inertial wave phenomena in anticyclones," Oceanography, 37, 22-33, doi:10.5670/oceanog.2024.304, 2024.

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1 Dec 2024

Time-varying winds blowing over an eddying ocean generate near-​inertial waves (NIWs) that tend to be trapped in anticyclones. Such anticyclones have been termed inertial chimneys in the past but have recently been renamed inertial drainpipes, given their propensity to funnel NIW energy downward to the deep ocean. Here, we present evidence of a semi-blocked inertial drainpipe where downward-​propagating NIWs trapped in an anticyclone are partially reflected off the permanent pycnocline, returned toward the surface, and dissipated at the top of the seasonal pycnocline in a submesoscale filament of anticyclonic vorticity. Observations made on the northern rim of an anticyclone in the Iceland Basin include a high-​resolution survey of velocity, hydrography, and microstructure. Upward-propagating NIWs were observed in a salty, submesoscale filament of anticyclonic vorticity near the edge of the eddy, potentially trapped there. Above the filament and at the top of the seasonal pycnocline, turbulence was enhanced over what could be attributed to local winds and surface cooling. Ray tracing suggests the filament could have channeled and focused trapped upward-propagating NIWs, acting as an inertial chimney in a truer sense of the term, possibly intensifying the wave energy sufficiently to sustain the observed turbulence. Numerical simulations of NIWs in anticyclonic vorticity and stratification representative of the observations suggest that the upward-propagating NIWs could have been generated by a wind event 12 days prior and reflected off a sharp jump in stratification at the base of the anticyclone. Here, the transition between the weakly stratified winter mixed layer and the permanent pycnocline partially reflects downward-​propagating NIWs, limiting the inertial drainpipe effect.

Observations of the upper ocean from autonomous platforms during the passage of extratropical Cyclone Epsilon (2020)

Zimmerman, M.T., and 8 others including L. Rainville and C.M. Lee, "Observations of the upper ocean from autonomous platforms during the passage of extratropical Cyclone Epsilon (2020)," Oceanography, 37, 48-57, doi:10.5670/oceanog.2024.303, 2024.

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1 Dec 2024

This paper presents the preliminary findings of an observational array, comprised of an eXpendable Spar (X-Spar) buoy, an Air-Launched Autonomous Micro-Observer (ALAMO) profiling float, and two Seagliders, that observed the passage of Extratropical Cyclone Epsilon during the Near Inertial Shear and Kinetic Energy in the North Atlantic Experiment (NISKINe). We investigate the input of near-inertial and kinetic energy into the upper ocean, specifically in relation to how these phenomena impacted upper-ocean structure as a result of the storm’s passage. We describe the methodology used to summarize the development of an autonomous approach to observing hurricanes and extratropical cyclones and to elucidate how similarly designed observational campaigns can be further used to study the physics governing the evolution of upper-ocean dynamics during and after storms.

Connectivity between Siberian river runoff and the lower limb of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation

Gjelstrup, C.V.B., P.G. Myers, C.M. Lee, K. Azetsu-Scott, and C.A. Stedmon, "Connectivity between Siberian river runoff and the lower limb of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation," Limnol. Oceanogr., EOR, doi:10.1002/lno.12696, 2024.

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26 Sep 2024

Freshwater from the Arctic participates in the globally important Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). We use high-resolution, in situ observations of dissolved organic matter (DOM) fluorescence to trace the origins of freshwater and organic carbon in the densest component of the AMOC, namely Denmark Strait Overflow Water (DSOW). We find a distinct terrestrial DOM signal in DSOW and trace it upstream to the Siberian shelves in the Arctic Ocean. This implies a riverine origin of freshwater in DSOW. We estimate that the Siberian Shelf water contribution constitutes approximately 1% of DSOW. Ocean circulation modeling confirms the inferred pathway and highlights Denmark Strait as an important location for the entrainment of the riverine signal into DSOW. Our proposed method can be deployed on a range of observing systems to elucidate freshwater dispersion across the Arctic and subarctic, thereby contributing to the broader discussion on freshwater impacts and organic carbon sequestration in the AMOC.

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In The News

During a pandemic, is oceangoing research safe?

Eos, Jenessa Duncombe

Postponing cruises. Cancelling cruises. UNOLS has extended its halt on vessel operations until July. UNOLS Chair Craig Lee explains why onboard mitigation of COVID-19 is "difficult to impossible."

1 Apr 2020

Coronavirus is wreaking havoc on scientific field work

The Washington Post, Maddie Stone

As the novel coronavirus pandemic continues to upend life around the world, scientific research is beginning to suffer. Over the past several weeks, major Earth science field campaigns, some years in the making, have been called off or postponed indefinitely. Craig Lee, APL-UW Senior Principal Oceanographer and UNOLS Council Chair, comments on impacts to at-sea research.

27 Mar 2020

These ocean robots spent a year collecting data under Antarctic ice

Geek.com, Genevieve Scarano

Studying Antarctic areas can be tough for scientists, but ocean robots are here to help: A group of autonomous subs have successfully collected data beneath the Dotson Ice Shelf in West Antarctica.

24 Jan 2019

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Acoustics Air-Sea Interaction & Remote Sensing Center for Environmental & Information Systems Center for Industrial & Medical Ultrasound Electronic & Photonic Systems Ocean Engineering Ocean Physics Polar Science Center
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