Squirm Tech LLC (https://squirm.tech/) makes marine robotics and ocean data accessible and affordable for researchers and educators. We build open source robots and while we strive to make our builds as cheap as possible, we don’t skimp on quality.

My work at the Arctic Research Centre focuses on ice-ocean interactions. Since 2015, I have embarked on five field campaigns in western Greenland to study oceanic heat content and iceberg drift and deterioration. I developed a low-cost iceberg tracker and I use aerial drone imagery to quantify iceberg melt rates. I am currently working with students from the Aarhus University School of Engineering to develop unmanned robotic platforms to make measurements in close proximity to drifting icebergs.

My work at FSU is funded through the Consortium for Advanced Research on Transport of Hydrocarbon in the Environment (CARTHE). CARTHE's overall goal is to understand the range of ocean processes that impact marine oil spills. I developed novel aerial imaging platforms to study surface-ocean mixing at small spatial scales (1-200 m) and short temporal scales (minutes to hours). These platforms include a ship-tethered aerostat and unmanned aerial vehicles.

I used a combination of HF radar velocities, GPS-tracked surface drifters, and a high-resolution ROMS model to study Lagrangian transport pathways and population connectivity in the Adriatic Sea. I examined Lagrangian transport between existing and planned marine protected areas, sardine recruitment in the Gulf of Manfredonia, and the origins and fates of marine litter.

I collected temperature, salinity, pressure, and velocity data in the northern Gulf of Eilat (Aqaba) using fixed-depth ADCP/thermistor/CTD moorings, profiling moorings, and HF radar. I first used HF radar data to show that the PVD is essentially useless. I also used HF radar data in a stochastic Lagrangian model to estimate the horizontal eddy diffusivity. I used deep moored ADCP velocity data to establish a more concrete link between the magnitude of tidal currents and the seasonally varying stratification. We used an Aqualog moored profiling carrier to obtain the first high resolution, deep vertical profiles of velocity and density in the Gulf of Eilat. These data show large amplitude internal waves. I had the opportunity to work closely with the Aqualog team and learn quite a lot of profiling mooring technology.

Duties included: supervising field data collection, laboratory analysis, data processing, and small boat operation. Supervisor: Dr. Penny Hall

I used the open boundary modal analysis (OMA) technique to process HF radar current data in the northern Gulf of Eilat (Aqaba). These data have been used to evaluate the progressive vector diagram (PVD), estimate the horizontal eddy diffusivity, and examine the spatial and temporal distributions of surface currents.