About me

Hi! I am an ocean and atmospheric scientist at the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) headquarters in Virginia, part of the U.S. Department of the Interior. I manage scientific studies related to physical oceanography, biogeochemistry, and atmospheric science on the outer continental shelf of the U.S. Our science program informs agency decisions regarding offshore energy; critical minerals; and carbon sequestration.

Prior to BOEM, I was a postdoc and project scientist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, U.C. San Diego, advised by Prof. Shang-Ping Xie. I studied regional-scale atmosphere-ocean interactions, with funding from the NASA physical oceanography program. I worked heavily with satellite observations of oceanic variables such as sea surface temperature, sea level, and ocean color; and atmospheric variables such as surface winds, rainfall, and clouds. We supplemented satellite data where appropriate with in situ observations from buoys, ships, and gliders.

I ran computer simulations with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model and Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS), and utilized gridded reanalyses such as ERA5 and NCEP. I have found that combining satellite observations with numerical modeling is a powerful approach for developing robust explanations about processes in our environment.

Specific problems I worked on at Scripps include:

• orographic wind forcing of ocean circulation and upwelling in the Southern California Bight
• coupling between surface winds and rainfall
• satellite wind retrieval errors near coastal mountains

Check out my publications and research highlights for more information.

I received a Ph.D. in physical oceanography from the University of Hawaii in 2013, working on air-sea interaction around SST fronts; and a S.B. in mathematics from MIT in 2006.

AMS Energy Committee

Since 2023, I have served on the American Meteorological Society (AMS) Energy Committee, where I have helped organize a number of offshore energy-related sessions at the AMS Annual Meetings.

AMS Air-Sea Interaction Committee

From 2017–2021, I served on the AMS Air-Sea Interaction Committee. As part of this responsibility, I helped organize the Air-Sea Interaction Conference at the 2021 AMS Annual Meeting.

Other interests

I like spending time outdoors with family; and football, from coaching at the youth flag football level, to UCLA (season ticket holder), and the NFL (Bolt Up!). Feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions or just want to say hello (tomk at alum.mit.edu).