Danielle Wain, Ph.D

My expertise lies in process-based understanding of environmental fluid dynamics in lakes and the ocean. My PhD dissertation focused on turbulence in lakes, where transport of sediments, nutrients, and oxygen is limited by stratification. Many studies have shown elevated mixing (driven by internal waves) at bathymetric features in lakes and the ocean, but far fewer have investigated when and how such mixing affects the entire water body. We used combined turbulence and tracer studies to investigate internal wave driven benthic-pelagic coupling in lakes.

In my postdoctoral work, I expanded my research in internal waves and turbulence to the oceanic environment, with continued emphasis on the boundaries. While at the University of Washington, I studied internal tide-bathymetry interactions in Monterey Submarine Canyon, which cuts into the continental shelf off the coast of California. Submarine canyons are sites of intense mixing and turbulence; understanding internal tide generation, propagation through complex canyon topography, and dissipation are essential for comprehending the importance of canyons in coastal dynamics. During my European Space Agency fellowship, I investigated turbulence generated by breaking internal waves at the base of the surface layer in the Labrador Sea.

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