Staff Profile

Si-Yuan Sean Chen

Preferred Name: Sean Chen

JOINT PROGRAM STUDENT

PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY

Email: sichen@whoi.edu

Phone:

Lab/Group Site: https://www2.whoi.edu/site/ggoceanclimategroup/research/deep-ocean-circulation/

Education

MSci Earth Sciences (Geology), University of Bristol

Research Statement

I am intrigued by the deep blue ocean, particularly the dynamical processes that are ongoing yet little known to us in the ocean abyss. These processes, both physical and biogeochemical, concern our understanding of the role of deep ocean in Earth’s energy budget, climate system, biodiversity, and so forth. Broadly, my research concerns our understanding of particle dispersal within deep ocean flows and how it can benefit scientific community by bringing the physical oceanographers, marine chemists, and geologists to collectively make dynamically robust interpretation of past oceanic and climatic history from marine sediment records, as well as to assess any potential impact of future human activities in the deep sea.

My research currently focuses on the physics of mesoscale and sub-mesoscale deep ocean flows and phenomena. In particular, I am interested in two aspects: (1) vertical downward transfer of energy in the ocean and (2) mixing of flows in the ocean bottom boundary layer. For (1), I am currently investigating the dynamical mechanisms by which the sediment-eroding deep-sea / benthic storms can form underneath a meandering surface current, such as the Gulf Stream and Kuroshio, and how energy propagates from surface instability down to the abyss. For (2), I am revisiting observations from the eastern Pacific Ocean to study the spatial and temporal variability of bottom mixed layers in the region, where deep-sea mining activity will likely commence in the near future.