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Andrey Shcherbina Principal Oceanographer Affiliate Assistant Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering ashcherbina@apl.washington.edu Phone 206-897-1446 |
Education
M.S. Physical Oceanography, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, 1998
Ph.D. Physical Oceanography, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, 2004
Projects
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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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Lateral Mixing Small scale eddies and internal waves in the ocean mix water masses laterally, as well as vertically. This multi-investigator project aims to study the physics of this mixing by combining dye dispersion studies with detailed measurements of the velocity, temperature and salinity field during field experiments in 2011 and 2012. |
1 Sep 2012
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APL-UW Involvement in the Coastal Margin Observation and Prediction Science and Technology Center (CMOP) AUVs will be deployed by a newly formed APL-UW AUV group as part of CMOP's experimental observation network which consists of multiple fixed and mobile platforms equipped with oceanographic sensors. |
More Info |
15 Jun 2012
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The Center for Coastal Margin Observation and Predication (CMOP) has purchased from Hydroid, LLC two Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) for its studies. The REMUS (Remote Environmental Measuring Units) 100 (see Figure 1) is a compact, light-weight, AUV designed for operation in coastal environments up to 100 meters in depth. The AUVs will be deployed by a newly formed APL-UW AUV group as part of CMOP's experimental observation network which consists of multiple fixed and mobile platforms equipped with oceanographic sensors. The AUVs will be used, primarily, to study the Columbia River plume and estuary region. The AUVs will be deployed periodically throughout each operational year. We also plan to allow customization of the AUVs by integrating novel biogeochemical sensors to meet specific scientific objectives for the CMOP program. |
Videos
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Lagrangian Submesoscale Experiment LASER A science team led by Eric D'Asaro conducted a unique mission to deploy over 1,000 ocean drifters in a small area of the Gulf of Mexico. The real-time data collected from the biodegradable drifters recalibrated understanding of ocean currents. |
22 Jan 2018
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Publications |
2000-present and while at APL-UW |
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Restratification at a California Current upwelling front. Part I: Observations Johnson, L., C.M. Lee, E.A. D'Asaro, L. Thomas, and A. Shcherbina, "Restratification at a California Current upwelling front. Part I: Observations," J. Phys. Oceanogr., 50, 14-55-1472, doi:10.1175/JPO-D-19-0203.1, 2020. |
More Info |
6 May 2020 ![]() |
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A coordinated survey between a subsurface Lagrangian float and a ship-towed Triaxus profiler obtained detailed measurements of a restratifying surface intensified front (above 30 m) within the California Current System. The survey began as downfront winds incited mixing in the boundary layer. As winds relaxed and mixing subsided, the system entered a different dynamical regime as the front developed an overturning circulation with large vertical velocities that tilted isopycnals and stratified the upper ocean within a day. The horizontal buoyancy gradient was 1.5 x 10-6 s-2 and associated with vorticity, divergence, and strain that approached the Coriolis frequency. Estimates of vertical velocity from the Lagrangian float reached 1.2 x 10-3 m s-1. These horizontal gradients and vertical velocities were consistent with submesoscale dynamics that are distinct from the classic quasigeostrophic framework used to describe larger-scale flows. Vertical and horizontal gradients of velocity and buoyancy in the vicinity of the float revealed that sheared currents differentially advected the horizontal buoyancy gradient to increase vertical stratification. This was supported by analyses of temperature and salinity gradients that composed the horizontal and vertical stratification. Potential vorticity was conserved during restratification at 16 m, consistent with adiabatic processes. Conversely, potential vorticity near the surface (8 m) increased, highlighting the role of friction in modulating near-surface stratification. The observed increase in stratification due to these submesoscale processes was equivalent to a heat flux of 2000 W m-2, which is an order-of-magnitude larger than the average observed surface heat flux of 100 W m-2. |
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Novel and flexible approach to access the open ocean: Uses of sailing research vessel Lady Amber during SPURS-2 Rainville, L., L.R. Centurioni, W.E. Asher, C.A. Clayson, K. Drushka, J.B. Edson, B.A. Hodges, V. Hormann, J.T. Farai, J.J. Schanze, and A.Y. Shcherbina, "Novel and flexible approach to access the open ocean: Uses of sailing research vessel Lady Amber during SPURS-2," Oceanography, 32, 116-121, doi:10.5670/oceanog.2019.219, 2019. |
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14 Jun 2019 ![]() |
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SPURS-2 (Salinity Processes in the Upper-ocean Regional Study 2) used the schooner Lady Amber, a small sailing research vessel, to deploy, service, maintain, and recover a variety of oceanographic and meteorological instruments in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Low operational costs allowed us to frequently deploy floats and drifters to collect data necessary for resolving the regional circulation of the eastern tropical Pacific. The small charter gave us the opportunity to deploy drifters in locations chosen according to current conditions, to recover and deploy various autonomous instruments in a targeted and adaptive manner, and to collect additional near-surface and atmospheric measurements in the remote SPURS-2 region. |
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Rain and sun create slippery layers in the Eastern Pacific Fresh Pool Shcherbina, A.Y., E.A. D'Asaro, and R.R. Harcourt, "Rain and sun create slippery layers in the Eastern Pacific Fresh Pool," Oceanography, 32, 98-107, doi:10.5670/oceanog.2019.217, 2019. |
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14 Jun 2019 ![]() |
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An autonomous Lagrangian float equipped with a high-resolution acoustic Doppler current profiler observed the evolution of upper-ocean stratification and velocity in the Eastern Pacific Fresh Pool for over 100 days in AugustNovember 2016. Although convective mixing homogenized the water column to 40 m depth almost every night, the combination of diurnal warming on clear days and rainfall on cloudy days routinely produced strong stratification in the upper 10 m. Whether due to thermal or freshwater effects, the initial strong stratification was mixed downward and incorporated in the bulk of the mixed layer within a few hours. Stratification cycling was associated with pronounced variability of ocean surface boundary layer turbulence and vertical shear of wind-driven (Ekman) currents. Decoupled from the bulk of the mixed layer by strong stratification, warm and fresh near-surface waters were rapidly accelerated by wind, producing the well-known "slippery layer" effect, and leading to a strong downwind near-surface distortion of the Ekman profile. A case study illustrates the ability of the new generation of Lagrangian floats to measure rapidly evolving temperature, salinity, and velocity, including turbulent and internal wave components. Quantitative interpretation of the results remains a challenge, which can be addressed with high-resolution numerical modeling, given sufficiently accurate air-sea fluxes. |
In The News
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Untangling the ocean trash glut, one 'ghost net' at a time Christian Science Monitor, Doug Struck APL-UW oceanographer Andrey Shcherbina, who studies ocean circulation patterns, hitched a ride on a ship of opportunity to deploy sensors in the Pacific garbage patch. |
19 Jun 2020
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Temporary 'bathtub drains' in the ocean concentrate flotsam UW News, Hannah Hickey An experiment featuring the largest flotilla of sensors ever deployed in a single area provides new insights into how marine debris, or flotsam, moves on the surface of the ocean. |
18 Jan 2018
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Inventions
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Open Water Detection from Beneath Sea Ice Record of Invention Number: 47655 |
Disclosure
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16 Mar 2016
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