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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. |
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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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Drogue-loss detection for surface drifters during the Lagrangian Submesoscale Experiment (LASER) Haza, A.C., and 12 others, including E.A. D'Asaro and A. Shcherbina, "Drogue-loss detection for surface drifters during the Lagrangian Submesoscale Experiment (LASER)," J. Atmos. Ocean. Technol., 35, 705-725, doi:10.1175/JTECH-D-17-0143.1, 2018. |
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1 Apr 2018 ![]() |
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The Lagrangian Submesoscale Experiment (LASER) was designed to study surface flows during winter conditions in the northern Gulf of Mexico. More than 1000 mostly biodegradable drifters were launched. The drifters consisted of a surface floater extending 5 cm below the surface, containing the satellite tracking system, and a drogue extending 60 cm below the surface, hanging beneath the floater on a flexible tether. On some floats, the drogue separated from the floater during storms. This paper describes methods to detect drogue loss based on two properties that distinguish drogued from undrogued drifters. First, undrogued drifters often flip over, pointing their satellite antenna downward and thus intermittently reducing the frequency of GPS fixes. Second, undrogued drifters respond to wind forcing more than drogued drifters. A multistage analysis is used: first, two properties are used to create a preliminary drifter classification; then, the motion of each unclassified drifter is compared to that of its classified neighbors in an iterative process for nearly all of the drifters. The algorithm classified drifters with a known drogue status with an accuracy of virtually 100%. Drogue loss times were estimated with a precision of less than 0.5 and 3 h for 60% and 85% of the drifters, respectively. An estimated 40% of the drifters lost their drogues in the first 7 weeks, with drogue loss coinciding with storm events, particularly those with steep waves. Once the drogued and undrogued drifters are classified, they can be used to quantify the differences in material dispersion at different depths. |
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Observing finescale oceanic velocity structure with an autonomous Nortek acoustic Doppler current profiler Shcherbina, A.Y., E.A. D'Asaro, and S. Nylund, "Observing finescale oceanic velocity structure with an autonomous Nortek acoustic Doppler current profiler," J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol., 35, 411–427, doi:10.1175/JTECH-D-17-0108.1, 2018. |
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1 Feb 2018 ![]() |
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This paper describes the instrumentation and techniques for long-term targeted observation of the centimeter-scale velocity structure within the oceanic surface boundary layer, made possible by the recent developments in capabilities of autonomous platforms and self-contained pulse-coherent acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCPs). Particular attention is paid to the algorithms of ambiguity resolution ("unwrapping") of pulse-coherent Doppler velocity measurements. The techniques are demonstrated using the new Nortek Signature1000 ADCP mounted on a Lagrangian float, a combination shown to be capable of observing ocean turbulence in a number of recent studies. Statistical uncertainty of the measured velocities in relation to the ADCP setup is also evaluated. Described techniques and analyses should be broadly applicable to other autonomous and towed applications of pulse-coherent ADCPs. |
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Observations of near-surface current shear help describe oceanic oil and plastic transport Laxague, N.J.M., and 10 others, including A. Shcherbina, "Observations of near-surface current shear help describe oceanic oil and plastic transport," Geophys. Res. Lett., 45 ,245-249, doi:10.1002/2017GL075891, 2018. |
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16 Jan 2018 ![]() |
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Plastics and spilled oil pose a critical threat to marine life and human health. As a result of wind forcing and wave motions, theoretical and laboratory studies predict very strong velocity variation with depth over the upper few centimeters of the water column, an observational blind spot in the real ocean. Here we present the first-ever ocean measurements of the current vector profile defined to within 1 cm of the free surface. In our illustrative example, the current magnitude averaged over the upper 1 cm of the ocean is shown to be nearly four times the average over the upper 10 m, even for mild forcing. Our findings indicate that this shear will rapidly separate pieces of marine debris which vary in size or buoyancy, making consideration of these dynamics essential to an improved understanding of the pathways along which marine plastics and oil are transported. |
In The News
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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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