The Meet a Data Scientist series is a chance to get up close and personal with top-level data science professionals. Join us for a talk with physical oceanographer and RSMAS professor Dr. Shane Elipot. A Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Ocean Sciences at the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (RSMAS), Dr. Elipot conducts research in physical oceanography—specifically in atmosphere-ocean interactions, oceanic surface boundary layer dynamics, and the changes of the global oceanic thermohaline circulation. Dr. Elipot is also interested in the nature of oceanic and atmospheric observations, and more generally in time series and covariance analyses of environmental data.

The purpose of the Meet a Data Scientist lecture series is to introduce our audience to the people behind the data, their lives, interests, career choices, their work, and passion for how they can use data to solve grand challenges in their respective fields. Join us as we peer behind the curtain and meet the data scientist behind the data! This lecture series is co-sponsored by the Miami Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) and is free and open to the public.

Register Now  |  Tuesday, April 5, 4:00-5:00 PM via Zoom

TALK TITLE:  “An Ocean of Data”

Ocean currents are important because they transport freshwater, salt, heat, and CO₂, and thus are an integral part of the mechanics of the Earth’s climate. Ocean currents also transport organisms, nutrients, and pollutants such as plastics, and are thus a main driver of variability for marine ecosystems and resources accessible to humans. Yet ocean currents are challenging to observe, and therefore difficult to predict, because the ocean is set in motion on a wide range of temporal and spatial scales, from seconds to millennia, and from millimeters to the circumference of the Earth. For this talk, Dr. Elipot will present some of his previous, ongoing, and future research projects that are concerned with gathering real or simulated ocean current data and deciphering their roles in our climate system.

About Shane

Dr. Elipot received his PhD in Oceanography from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego in 2006. In 2007-2008, Dr. Elipot was a National Research Council postdoctoral research fellow at the NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory in Miami, Florida. In 2009, he joined the UK National Oceanography Center in Liverpool as a physical oceanographer. In 2013, Dr. Elipot returned to Miami at the Rosenstiel School first as a scientist, then as a research professor starting in 2019. Dr. Elipot’s research is focused on using in situ observations and model outputs to understand the kinematics and dynamics of ocean currents, from small-scale mixing processes associated with tides to the global oceanic circulation.