Dr Melissa Marie Bowen

Research | Current

I am physical oceanographer -- I study the physical state of the ocean (currents, temperatures, salinities) and how and why it changes. 

Recent publications automatically appear at the end of the page. You can find all my publications on google scholar:

http://scholar.google.co.nz/citations?user=bXvyZ3wAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=sra

Papers published but not showing up below:

Shears N. and Bowen, M., 2017, "Half a century of temperature records reveal complex warming trends in coastal waters adjacent to western boundary currents”, Scientific Reports, doi:10.1038/s41598-017-14944-2. (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-14944-2)

.Papers submitted:

Fernandez, D., Bowen, M., Sutton, P., 2017. "Variability, coherence and forcing mechanisms in the New Zealand ocean boundary currents", submitted to Progress in Oceanography.

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I am part of the Deep South National Science Challenge. We are measuring and simulating ocean heat content and transport:

http://www.deepsouthchallenge.co.nz/southern-ocean-warming-world

In 2018, we are also planning to measure changes in the outflow of deep water from the Ross Sea:

http://www.deepsouthchallenge.co.nz/taking-pulse-ross-sea-outflow

 

Some current research projects:

Dynamics of the upper ocean

The near surface ocean is where heat and gases are exchanged with the atmosphere and where marine phytoplankton live. Recent numerical simulations suggest motion at small scales (submesoscale, 1-10 km) determines much of the upper ocean dynamics. We are investigating these small scales in 1 km resolution thermal imagery (with Xavier Capet and Francesco d'Ovidio (LOCEAN, UPMC) and Joe LaCasce (U of Oslo)) .

Variability and trends of sea surface temperature in the NZ region

Large changes in temperature and sea level occured in throughout the SW Pacific after the 1997-98 El Nino/La Nina. Phil Sutton and I investigated these (as part of the New Zealand Climate Variability Programme). We found temperature in the eastern Tasman Sea warmed rapidly over the top 800m (Sutton et al., 2005) and that changes in sea level (accompanied by a large region of very warm SST) north of NZ was due to the anomalous winds and excitation of waves on the thermocline (Bowen et al., 2006).

Recently Jordan Markham (MSc) has investigated the changes in SST over nearly 50 years from a temperature time series collected at the Leigh Marine Lab in collaboration with Nick Shears (IMS/Stats). 

We have a paper in press in J of Climate where we suggest some of the changes in upper ocean temperatures are due to the exchange of heat with the deeper ocean as Rossby and Kelvin waves propagate around the country. 

New Zealand Ocean Boundary Currents

The large ocean currents off the NZ coast transport heat and nutrients into the region. Phil Sutton (NIWA) and I designed a series of experiments to measure these currents for the New Zealand Climate Variability Programme. Denise Fernandez has investigated variability in all the New Zealand boundary currents in her PhD studies (available on the university website -- she is currently writing up the papers).

A new estimate of the mean flow in the subtropical East Auckland Current off the northeast shelf and the Subantarctic Front to the south -- Bowen et al. (2014)

Trends in sea surface temperature, sea surface height and eddy kinetic energy where the subtropical and subantarctic boundary currents meet east of New Zealand -- Fernandez et al., (2014)

A first measure of the subtropical inflow eastward from the Tasman -- NZ's "hot tap" -- and the Antarctic Intermediate Water flowing westward beneath it -- Sutton and Bowen (2014)

 Direct measurements of currents off the Northwest coast of New Zealand -- Sutton and Bowen (2011)

 

 

 

Teaching | Current

Semester 1 2017: Marine 202 (Principles of Marine Science), Geog 332 (Climate and the Environment), Geog 351 (Coastal and Marine Studies), Earth Sci 105 (Natural Hazards) and Marine 100G (The Oceans Around Us).

Semester 2 2017: Earth Sci 263 (Tools and Techniques for Earth Scientists) and Geophys 780 (Frontiers in Physical Oceanography)

We will be offering three new PG courses in 2018 -- Geophys 711, Geophys 712 and Geophys 713 that will include geophysical fluid dynamics, small-scale processes and climate physics.

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Students sometimes ask “How can I become an oceanographer?” There is no straight-forward answer (many of us arrived in oceanography after doing degrees in physics, maths or engineering), but there are many options!

You can study the ocean and climate as an Earth Science major with these courses:

EarthSci 261 (Climate, Hydrology and Biogeography); Marine 202 (Principles of Marine Science); Geog 332 (Climate and Environment); Geog 334 (Environmental Change); Geog 351 (Coastal and Marine Studies);

A Geophysics degree is excellent preparation for later postgrad work with the following courses on climate:

Physics 213 (The Geophysical Environment); Geophysics 311 (Physics of the Atmosphere and Ocean);

Postgraduate supervision

Current PhD students:

Ana Markic (with Mark Costello) Thesis title: "Marine plastic pollution in the South Pacific region: distribution and impacts on marine life"

Rebecca MacPherson (Craig Stevens and Joe O'Callaghan supervisors) "The Effects of Transient Inflows in Buoyant Plume Energy Partioning"

Chhaya Chaudhary (Mark Costello supervisor) "Latitudinal gradients in marine species richness"

Qianshuo Zhao (Mark Costello supervisor) "Mapping marine ecosystems of the world"

 

Current MSc, Honours, and Summer Students:

Maija Kaipio, MSc, "Decadal variability of the Southern Hemisphere subtropical gyres"

Kayo Takahashi, Honours, "What controls the flow of the ACC along the Campbell Plateau?"

Abdullah Madawi, Honours, "Energy propagation across the South Pacific"

 

Student who have completed:

PhD

Denise Fernandez (with Phil Sutton), PhD 2016, "Variability, coherence and forcing mechanisms in the New Zealand ocean boundary currents"

Ning Li (Gilles Bellon supervisor), PhD 2016, "On the climatology, variability and trends of moisture advection over the Southern Hemisphere and its association with modes of atmospheric circulations and large scale ocean‐atmosphere interactions"

Aitana Forcen Vazquez, PhD 2015,  (VUW with Mike Williams and Lionel Carter), "Oceanography of the New Zealand Subantarctic region" 

MSc

Jordan Markham, MSc 2014, (with Phil Sutton and Nick Shears) "What controls sea surface temperature variation at Leigh, New Zealand?"

Penelope Lindsay, MSc 2014, (with Kathy Campbell and Lorna Strachan), "Tidal asymmetry and sediment transport at Mangawhai Estuary, Northland"

Cowan Nokes, MSc 2014, (with Lorna Strachan and Helen Bostock), "Quaternary Sediment Distribution and Transport Pathways over the North Canterbury Shelf"

Denise Fernandez, MSc 2012 (VUW with Lionel Carter) Thesis: "Do winds control the confluence of subtropical and subantarctic surface waters east of New Zealand?"

BSc Honours

Prajakta Niphadkar, Honours 2016, "Sea level variability around New Zealand"

Ben Nistor, Honours 2016 (with Roger Davies), "Albedo variability of maritime boundary layer clouds over the Southern Ocean"

Maija Kaipio, Honours 2015, "Changes in Circumpolar Deep Water off East Antarctica"

Gemma Dowsett, Honours 2014 (with Jenny Salmond) "Is there a link between brown haze in Auckland City and the state of the tides?" 

Summer Projects

Laura Sobral Verona, Summer 2014/2015 Project: "Ocean temperature change off East Antarctica"

Corinne Marti, 2013 Summer Student Fellow, Project: "A pilot study of spring-neap variability of salinity and sediment in the Waitemata Estuary"

James Oram, Volunteer Summer Student, "Physical data from elephant seals off East Antarctica"

Areas of expertise

Physical oceanography; Southwest Pacific Ocean circulation; Southwest Pacific boundary currents; Satellite oceanography; Estuarine physics

Committees/Professional groups/Services

Member of the South Pacific Ocean and Circulation Experiment (SPICE) 

Associate Editor, Journal of Southern Hemisphere Earth Systems Science

2016 Faculty of Science Teaching Commendation