SBCLTER People

Libe Washburn (Homepage)

Research interests: Coastal circulation, mesoscale processes, air-sea interaction, and interdisciplinary oceanography

I am responsible for directing the physical oceanographic monitoring effort at the core sites in kelp forests. I also coordinate much of the analysis and synthesis of oceanographic data obtained from a series of cruises during 2000-2006 and from moorings at the core sites from 2000 to the present. My research group operates an extensive array of high frequency radars for mapping surface currents in the coastal ocean encompassing all of the field sites within the SBC LTER. Data from the array are important for identifying the spatial structure of currents causing transport through kelp forests at the core sites. A key objective of these efforts is to understand the role of ocean transport processes in the delivery of nutrients, biogenic particles, and other ecologically important waterborne materials to kelp forests on the inner shelf. In collaboration with a group from UC San Diego and the Moorea Coral Reef LTER, I am working to establish real time data nodes in the program and our first installation is on the Stearns Wharf in Santa Barbara.