Annika Jersild
Research Focus
My research passion lies in applying models, quantitative techniques, and statistical analyses to answer climate-oriented questions, with a special interest in carbon fluxes and the carbon cycle. My masters degree focused on the terrestrial side, constraining uncertainty in carbon fluxes in loblolly pines and predicting changes due to future climate change with Dr. Quinn Thomas. For my Ph.D. I transitioned to oceanography, applying similar mathematical and computational skills to analysis of biogeochemical cycles in the Southern Ocean in my research with Dr. Takamitsu Ito. My postdoc work continues this focus on ocean carbon storage, working with with Dr. Peter Landschützer and the SOM-FFN machine learning system to constrain uncertainty in the surface carbon dataset.
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My research goals are to continue to work towards understanding the impacts of climate change and reducing uncertainty in marine ecosystem and climate predictions, using my knowledge of ocean biogeochemistry and climate change to interpret and analyze data of ocean ecosystems.
Recent Projects
A Spatially Explicit Uncertainty Analysis of Air-Sea CO2 Flux From Observations
The ocean plays a critical role in global climate and the carbon cycle by absorbing and releasing carbon through the air-sea interface. In order to understand these dynamics, we need to accurately quantify the amount of carbon exchanged between the ocean and atmosphere. We use a neural network machine learning product (the SOM-FFN) to generate global scale, monthly, 1-degree resolution surface pCO2 and air-sea flux data. Currently, we are developing and analyzing the uncertainty and bias associated with this robust method. For the first time, we have created a publicly available gridded uncertainty product associated with our surface carbon flux estimates. You can download this dataset here: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/ocean-carbon-acidification-data-system/oceans/SPCO2_1982_present_ETH_SOM_FFN.html
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Mesoscale Eddies Regulate Seasonal Iron Supply and Carbon Drawdown in the Drake Passage
Mesoscale eddies are a critical component of regional circulation, nutrient and carbon cycling, and ocean carbon uptake in the Southern Ocean. We use a regional ocean circulation and biogeochemistry model to evaluate the influence of mesoscale eddies through a parameter sensitivity experiment in the Drake Passage.
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Published in December, 2021, by Geophysical Research Letters
Modeled Temperature (°C) for Drake Passage region from 2008-2010
White line is Mixed Layer Depth
Physical & Biological Controls of the Drake Passage pCO2 variability
The Southern Ocean is an important region of ocean carbon uptake, but fluxes at regional scales remain highly uncertain. Our goal is to better understand the mechanisms that influence variability of carbon uptake in the Drake Passage region of the Southern Ocean. We use a regional ocean circulation and biogechemical model to examine interplay between mean and eddy advection, convective mixing, and biological carbon export and determine surface variability of dissolved inorganic carbon and partial pressure of carbon dioxide. This research allows for better comprehension of regional carbon fluxes and analysis of biophysical dynamics that influence annual and interannual fluctuation.
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Published in September, 2020, by Global Biogeochemical Cycles