Hi there,

My name is Yanxu (妍旭) and I study ocean physics in general (and a bit metaphysics too). The spectrum of my curiosity is wide, but specifically, I try to understand the “mesoscale” characteristics of the upper ocean and their dynamical impacts on general ocean circulation and big-picture climate. This “mesoscale” does not only refer to sizes, but an interest in second-order dynamics of physical causation. Considering the two interpretations (wind-driven and thermohaline) of ocean circulation, you can find my MSc study of the former related to the so-called “nonlinear Ekman theory” where ocean surface vorticity modifies the Ekman-layer response to wind forcing, and PhD work of the latter towards the correlation between ocean ventilation theory and mesoscale eddies in both Lagrangian and Eulerian frameworks. Details are shown in our publications and my research page. Currently, I focus on air-ice-ocean triad interactions in marginal ice zones of the Chukchi-Beaufort Sea region. With regard to metaphysics, I am a disciple of Ludwig Wittgenstein and thus easily get obsessed with diverse topics in the philosophy of language, mathematics and perception (i.e., the linguistic boundaries of physical and physiological knowledge).