Alejandro Cifuentes-Lorenzen is a physical oceanographer and an Assistant Professor
of Oceanography at Cal Maritime. Dr. Cifuentes-Lorenzen's research expertise is in
air-sea interaction dynamics.
Alejandro Cifuentes-Lorenzen studies boundary layer physics. His research is focused
on further elucidating the role of waves in the transfer of momentum and kinetic energy
across the air-sea interface and is principally focused on wave-driven turbulence.
An objective of this work is to better understand wave-induced perturbations at the
boundary (above and below the sea surface) and, because these small-scale processes
have an enormous impact on regional and global transport but cannot be numerically
resolved, he seeks to characterize them and to contribute to the development of parameterizations
that can improve general circulation and atmospheric modeling efforts.
Current Projects:
What: Further elucidate the transfer of energy from the atmosphere to the sea, a process
mediated by waves, including addressing the subsurface turbulent kinetic energy (TKE)
dissipation rate under breaking conditions and the wave dependent TKE dissipation
rate profile, a direct consequence of the energy exchange between wind and waves.
We will also investigate the importance of Langmuir circulation relative to Eulerian
shear production and the injection of TKE from wave breaking.
Who: A multi-institution, NSF supported project, in collaboration with scientists
from the University of Connecticut, Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia,
University of Rhode Island and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
Where: Dr. Cifuentes-Lorenzen led a comprehensive field campaign out of the Martha's
Vineyard Coastal Observatory (Fall 2019), designed to track the evolution of the turbulent
kinetic energy budget on both sides of the air-sea interface, capturing wave-driven
dynamics and wave-driven turbulence at the boundary layer.
Highlighted publications include:
- Randolph, K and Cifuentes-Lorenzen, A. (submitted): The case for measuring whitecaps using ocean color and initial linkages to subsurface
physics. Special Topics in Air-Sea Interaction, Springer.
- Cifuentes-Lorenzen, A., Edson, J., Zappa, C.J., (2018): Air-Sea Interaction in the Southern Ocean; Exploring the Height of the Wave Boundary
Layer at the Air-Sea Interface. Boundary-Layer Meteorol. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10546-018-0376-0
- Randolph, K., H.M. Dierssen, A. Cifuentes-Lorenzen, W.M. Balch, E.C. Monahan, C.J. Zappa, D.T. Drapeau, and B. Bowler (2017) Novel Methods for Optically Measuring Whitecaps under Natural Wave-Breaking Conditions
in the Southern Ocean. J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol., 34, 533–554, https://doi.org/10.1175/JTECH-D-16-0086.1
- Lund, B., C.J. Zappa, H.C. Graber, and A. Cifuentes-Lorenzen (2017) Shipboard Wave Measurements in the Southern Ocean. J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol., 34, 2113–2126, https://doi.org/10.1175/JTECH-D-16-0212.1
- Brumer, S.E., C.J. Zappa, B.W. Blomquist , C.W. Fairall, A. Cifuentes-Lorenzen, J.B. Edson, I.M. Brooks, and B.J. Huebert. (2017) Wave-related Reynolds number parameterizations of CO2 and DMS transfer velocities. Geophys. Res. Letters, 44. doi: 10.1002/2017GL074979
- Cifuentes-Lorenzen, A., J.B. Edson, and C.J. Zappa (2013) A Multisensor Comparison of Ocean Wave Frequency Spectra from a Research Vessel during
the Southern Ocean Gas Exchange Experiment. Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology, 30 (12): 2907–25.
Oceans I
Oceans II
Oceans and Climate
Physical Oceanography
