Agata Piffer Braga
University of California San Diego
March 10th at 9:30am
Robinson 202 + via zoom in Cannon 203
Hosted by Tobias Kukulka
Abstract: River plumes are not only central to shaping coastal dynamics and biogeochemical cycling, they also provide a natural laboratory for understanding buoyancy driven flows, sharp density fronts, and multiscale processes. In this presentation, I will highlight my past and recent work on river plume fronts, including the development of a multi platform sampling strategy to resolve their three dimensional evolution. These observations revealed the mechanisms governing frontal structure, evolving a gravity current to geostrophic adjustment, and the generation of trapped core internal solitary waves. Building on this foundation, my recent research leverages the high resolution measurements of the SWOT mission to understand how the barotropic pressure gradients regulate freshwater and tracer transport, and link coastal plumes to shelf scale circulation. Through this work, I seek to advance a predictive understanding of ocean fronts across scales, from rapidly evolving plume boundaries to submesoscale frontal systems. These fronts regulate stratification, ecosystem variability, and climate relevant exchanges, yet their transient nature makes them difficult to observe and predict. By integrating coordinated in situ observations, autonomous platforms, satellite remote sensing, and computational methods, I aim to connect processes across environments and scales and establish new pathways toward observing and predicting frontal dynamics in the global ocean.
Zoom Recording ID: 99293238656
UUID: ZzDr4NYNRpCBvoI6EAeSVg==
Meeting Time: 2026-03-10 01:14:02pmGMT