Biography

I am a physical oceanographer at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. My research interests include oceanic processes like dense overflows and hydraulics, internal waves and turbulent mixing, and their impacts on the large-scale ocean circulation. My research is primarily based on the collection and analysis of shipboard and moored in-situ observations. I am a member of Multiscale Ocean Dynamics at Scripps.

Interests

  • Flow-Topography Interaction
  • Overflows and Hydraulics
  • Ocean Turbulence and Mixing
  • Internal Waves
  • Global Overturning Circulation

Education

  • Dr.rer.nat. Physical Oceanography, 2010

    University of Hamburg

  • Diplom Physics, 2006

    University of Hamburg

Projects

New England Seamount Chain - Gulf Stream Interactions

What happens when one of the strongest ocean currents on earth encounters a seamount?

Mixing Below Tropical Instability Waves

Evaluating mixing mechanisms and associated turbulent heat fluxes below tropical instability waves near the equator.

Boundary Layer Turbulence - BLT

Turbulence and abyssal upwelling in the deep bottom boundary layers.

Near-Inertial Shear and Kinetic Energy in the North Atlantic Experiment - NISKINe

ONR-funded project to study the generation, propagation and decay of near-inertial waves in the North Atlantic

Propagation of Intra-Seasonal Tropical Oscillations - PISTON

Understanding three-dimensional oceanic processes that may influence the propagation of multi-scale convective systems in the atmosphere

Hydraulic Processes in the Samoan Passage

NSF-funded project to study hydraulic processes in the abyssal flow through the Samoan Passage

Flow Encountering Abrupt Topography - FLEAT

ONR-funded project to study flow-topography interactions in the vicinity of Palau in the northern tropical Pacific

Samoan Passage Abyssal Mixing Experiment

NSF-funded project to study volume transport and mixing processes in the abyssal flow through the Samoan Passage

Software

I Open Source.

mixsea

Ocean Mixing Parameterizations in Python.

code   |   docs

ctdproc

CTD Data Processing in Python.

code   |   docs

velosearaptor

ADCP Data Processing in Python.

code   |   docs

gvpy

Somewhat random collection of data analysis code snippets written in Python. Sharing this here as I sometimes find inspiration in other peoples code. Please be aware that breaking changes may occur at any moment.

code   |   docs

watchmagic

Adds a Jupyter Notebook magic command to watch a file or folder and re-evaluate a notebook cell if any changes occur.

code

Data

Samoan Passage

Mooring and shipboard data from the Samoan Passage project.

data repository

PISTON

Mooring data from PISTON.

data repository   |   processing code

PISTON data have also been archived to the official CAMP2EX_PISTON data repository hosted by NASA.

BLT

Mooring data from the Boundary Layer Turbulence (BLT) project.

data repository   |   processing code

Publications

van Haren, H., Voet, G., Alford, M.H., Fernández-Castro, B., Naveira Garabato, A., Wynne-Cattanach, B.L., Mercier, H., Messias, M.-J. Near-slope turbulence in a Rockall canyon. Deep Sea Res. I. in review.

Wynne-Cattanach, B.L., Couto, N., Drake, H.F., Ferrari, R., Le Boyer, A., Mercier, H., Messias, M.-J., Ruan, X., Spingys, C.P., van Haren, H., Voet, G., Polzin, K., Naveira Garabato, A.C., Alford, M.H. Observational evidence of diapycnal upwelling within a sloping submarine canyon. Nature. in review.

Cusack, J.M., Tan, S., Voet, G., Pratt, L.J., Alford, M.H., Carter, G.S., Girton, J.B. The dynamics and stability of a deep ocean overflow. J. Geophys. Res. Oceans. in preparation.

Voet, G., Alford, M.H., Couto, N., Le Boyer, A., Naveira Garabato, A.C., Polzin, K.L., Ferrari, R., Messias, M.-J., Mercier, H. Moored observations of tidal mixing and dynamics in a Rockall Trough canyon. Geophys. Res. Lett. in preparation.

Voet, G., Waterhouse, A.F., Savage, A.C., Kunze, E., MacKinnon, J.A., Alford, M.H., Colosi, J.A., Simmons, H.L., Klenz, T., Kelly, S.M., Moum, J.N., Whalen, C.B., Lien, R.-C., Girton, J.B. Near-inertial energy variability in a strong mesoscale eddy field in Iceland Basin. Oceanography. accepted.

Marques, O.B., Alford, M.H., Pinkel, R., MacKinnon, J.A., Voet, G., Klymak, J.M., Nash, J.D. Observations of Tidally Driven Turbulence over Steep, Small-Scale Topography Embedded in the Tasman Slope. J. Phys. Oceanogr. 54, 601–615. https://doi.org/10.1175/JPO-D-23-0038.1. 2024.

Gutiérrez Brizuela, N., Alford, M.H., Xie, S.-P., Sprintall, J., Voet, G., Warner, S.J., Hughes, K., Moum, J.N. Prolonged thermocline warming by near-inertial internal waves in the wakes of tropical cyclones. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 120, e2301664120. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2301664120. 2023.

Voet, G., Alford, M.H., Cusack, J.M., Pratt, L.J., Girton, J.B., Carter, G.S., Klymak, J.M., Tan, S., Thurnherr, A.M. Energy and Momentum of a Density-Driven Overflow in the Samoan Passage. J. Phys. Oceanogr. 53, 1429–1452. https://doi.org/10.1175/JPO-D-22-0220.1. 2023.

Boury, S., Supekar, R., Fine, E.C., Musgrave, R., Mickett, J.B., Voet, G., Odier, P., Peacock, T., MacKinnon, J.A., Alford, M.H. Observations of double diffusive staircase edges in the Arctic Ocean. J. Geophys. Res. 127, e2022JC018906. https://doi.org/10.1029/2022jc018906. 2022.

Tan, S., Pratt, L.J., Voet, G., Cusack, J.M., Helfrich, K.R., Alford, M.H., Girton, J.B., Carter, G.S. Hydraulic control of flow in a multi-passage system connecting two basins. J. Fluid Mech. 940. https://doi.org/10.1017/jfm.2022.212. 2022.

van Haren, H., Voet, G., Alford, M.H., Torres, D.J. Internal wave breaking near the foot of a steep East-Pacific continental slope. Prog. Oceanogr. 205, 102817. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2022.102817. 2022.

Wynne-Cattanach, B.L., Alford, M.H., MacKinnon, J.A., Voet, G. Measurements of turbulence generated by wake eddies near a steep headland. J. Geophys. Res. Oceans 127, e2022JC018674. https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JC018674. 2022.

Couchman, M.M.P., Wynne-Cattanach, B., Alford, M.H., Caulfield, C.P., Kerswell, R.R., MacKinnon, J.A., Voet, G. Data-driven identification of turbulent oceanic mixing from observational microstructure data. Geophys. Res. Lett. 48. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021gl094978. 2021.

Hamann, M.M., Alford, M.H., Lucas, A.J., Waterhouse, A.F., Voet, G. Turbulence driven by reflected internal tides in a supercritical submarine canyon. J. Phys. Oceanogr. 51, 591–609. https://doi.org/10.1175/jpo-d-20-0123.1. 2021.

Lele, R., Purkey, S.G., Nash, J.D., MacKinnon, J.A., Thurnherr, A.M., Whalen, C.B., Mecking, S., Talley, L.D., Voet, G. Abyssal heat budget in the Southwest Pacific Basin. J. Phys. Oceanogr. 51, 3317–3333. https://doi.org/10.1175/JPO-D-21-0045.1. 2021.

Zeiden, K.L., MacKinnon, J.A., Alford, M.H., Rudnick, D.L., Voet, G., Wijesekera, H. Broadband submesoscale vorticity generated by flow around an island. J. Phys. Oceanogr. 51, 1301–1317. https://doi.org/10.1175/jpo-d-20-0161.1. 2021.

Luecke, C.A., Arbic, B.K., Richman, J.G., Shriver, J.F., Alford, M.H., Ansong, J.K., Bassette, S.L., Buijsman, M.C., Menemenlis, D., Scott, R.B., Timko, P.G., Voet, G., Wallcraft, A.J., Zamudio, L. Statistical comparisons of temperature variance and kinetic energy in global ocean models and observations: Results from mesoscale to internal wave frequencies. J. Geophys. Res. Oceans 125, e2019JC015306. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019jc015306. 2020.

Voet, G., Alford, M.H., MacKinnon, J.A., Nash, J.D. Topographic form drag on tides and low-frequency flow: Observations of nonlinear lee waves over a tall submarine ridge near Palau. J. Phys. Oceanogr. 50, 1489–1507. https://doi.org/10.1175/JPO-D-19-0257.1. 2020.

Andres, M., Siegelman, M., Hormann, V., Musgrave, R.C., Merrifield, S.T., Rudnick, D.L., Merrifield, M.A., Alford, M.H., Voet, G., Wijesekera, H.W., MacKinnon, J.A., Centurioni, L., Nash, J.D., Terrill, E.J. Eddies, topography, and the abyssal flow by the Kyushu-Palau Ridge near Velasco Reef. Oceanography 32, 46–55. https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2019.410. 2019.

Carter, G.S., Voet, G., Alford, M.H., Girton, J.B., Mickett, J.B., Klymak, J.M., Pratt, L.J., Pearson-Potts, K.A., Cusack, J.M., Tan, S. A spatial geography of abyssal turbulent mixing in the Samoan Passage. Oceanography 32, 194–203. https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2019.425. 2019.

Cusack, J.M., Voet, G., Alford, M.H., Girton, J.B., Carter, G.S., Pratt, L.J., Pearson-Potts, K., Tan, S. Persistent turbulence in the Samoan Passage. J. Phys. Oceanogr. 49, 3179–3197. https://doi.org/10.1175/JPO-D-19-0116.1. 2019.

Girton, J.B., Mickett, J.B., Zhao, Z., Alford, M.H., Voet, G., Cusack, J.M., Carter, G.S., Pearson-Potts, K.A., Pratt, L.J., Tan, S., Klymak, J.M. Flow-topography interactions in the Samoan Passage. Oceanography 32, 184–193. https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2019.424. 2019.

Johnston, S., Schönau, M., Paluszkiewicz, T., MacKinnon, J., Arbic, B., Colin, P., Alford, M., Andres, M., Centurioni, L., Graber, H.C., Helfrich, K.R., Hormann, V., Lermusiaux, P.F.J., Musgrave, R., Powell, B.S., Qiu, B., Rudnick, D.L., Simmons, H.L., St. Laurent, L., Terrill, E., Trossman, D.S., Voet, G., Wijesekera, H.W., Zeiden, K.L. FLEAT: A multiscale observational and modeling program to understand how topography affects flows in the Western North Pacific. Oceanography 32, 10–21. https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2019.407. 2019.

MacKinnon, J.A., Alford, M.H., Voet, G., Zeiden, K., Johnston, T.M.S., Siegelman, M., Merrifield, S., Merrifield, M. Eddy wake generation from broadband currents near Palau. J. Geophys. Res. Oceans 124, 4891–4903. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019jc014945. 2019.

Pratt, L.J., Voet, G., Pacini, A., Tan, S., Alford, M.H., Carter, G.S., Girton, J.B., Menemenlis, D. Pacific abyssal transport and mixing: Through the Samoan Passage versus around the Manihiki Plateau. J. Phys. Oceanogr. 49, 1577–1592. https://doi.org/10.1175/jpo-d-18-0124.1. 2019.

Rudnick, D., Zeiden, K., Ou, C., Johnston, S., MacKinnon, J., Alford, M., Voet, G. Understanding vorticity caused by flow passing an island. Oceanography 32, 66–73. https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2019.412. 2019.

Siegelman, M., Merrifield, M.A., Firing, E., MacKinnon, J.A., Alford, M.H., Voet, G., Wijesekera, H.W., Schramek, T., Terrill, E. Observations of near-inertial surface currents at Palau. Oceanography 32, 74–83. https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2019.413. 2019.

Wagner, G.L., Flierl, G., Ferrari, R., Voet, G., Carter, G.S., Alford, M.H., Girton, J.B. Squeeze dispersion and the effective diapycnal diffusivity of oceanic tracers. Geophys. Res. Lett. 46, 5378–5386. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL082458. 2019.

Thorpe, S.A., Malarkey, J., Voet, G., Alford, M.H., Girton, J.B., Carter, G.S. Application of a model of internal hydraulic jumps. J. Fluid Mech. 834, 125–148. https://doi.org/10.1017/jfm.2017.646. 2018.

Savage, Anna C., Arbic, B.K., Alford, M.H., Ansong, J.K., Farrar, J.T., Menemenlis, D., O’Rourke, A.K., Richman, J.G., Shriver, J.F., Voet, G., others Spectral decomposition of internal gravity wave sea surface height in global models. J. Geophys. Res. 122, 7803–7821. https://doi.org/10.1002/2017JC013009. 2017.

Savage, A.C., Arbic, B.K., Richman, J.G., Shriver, J.F., Alford, M.H., Buijsman, M.C., Farrar, J.T., Sharma, H., Voet, G., Wallcraft, A.J., Zamudio, L. Frequency content of sea surface height variability from internal gravity waves to mesoscale eddies. J. Geophys. Res. 122, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1002/2016jc012331. 2017.

Voet, G., Alford, M.H., Girton, J.B., Carter, G.S., Mickett, J.B., Klymak, J.M. Warming and weakening of the abyssal flow through Samoan Passage. J. Phys. Oceanogr. 46, 2389–2401. https://doi.org/10.1175/JPO-D-16-0063.1. 2016.

Voet, G., Girton, J.B., Alford, M.H., Carter, G.S., Klymak, J.M., Mickett, J.B. Pathways, volume transport and mixing of abyssal water in the Samoan Passage. J. Phys. Oceanogr. 45, 562–588. https://doi.org/10.1175/JPO-D-14-0096.1. 2015.

Alford, M.H., Girton, J.B., Voet, G., Carter, G.S., Mickett, J.B., Klymak, J.M. Turbulent mixing and hydraulic control of abyssal water in the Samoan Passage. Geophys. Res. Lett. 40, 4668–4674. https://doi.org/10.1002/grl.50684. 2013.

Fer, I., Voet, G., Seim, K.S., Rudels, B., Latarius, K. Intense mixing of the Faroe Bank Channel overflow. Geophys. Res. Lett. 37, L02604. https://doi.org/10.1029/2009GL041924. 2010.

Voet, G. On the Nordic Overturning Circulation (PhD thesis). University of Hamburg. 2010.

Voet, G., Quadfasel, D. Entrainment in the Denmark Strait overflow plume by meso-scale eddies. Ocean Sci. 6, 301–310. https://doi.org/10.5194/os-6-301-2010. 2010.

Voet, G., Quadfasel, D., Mork, K.A., Søiland, H. The mid-depth circulation of the Nordic Seas derived from profiling float observations. Tellus A 62, 516–529. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0870.2009.00444.x. 2010.

Dickson, R.R., Dye, S., Jónsson, S., Köhl, A., Macrander, A., Marnela, M., Meincke, J., Olsen, S., Rudels, B., Valdimarsson, H., Voet, G. The overflow flux west of Iceland: Variability, origins and forcing, in: Dickson, R.R., Meincke, J., Rhines, P. (Eds.), ArcticSubarctic Ocean Fluxes. Springer, Dordrecht, pp. 443–474. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-6774-7\20. 2008.

Recent Posts

Publication Management with Zotero

How I manage publications using Zotero and its Better BibTex and ZotFile plugins
Jun 22, 2023
Publication Management with Zotero

watchmagic

A watchdog for IPython / jupyter notebook cells
Jun 19, 2020
watchmagic

BLT Test Moorings Recovered

Successful recoveries of two test moorings deployed in San Diego Trough
Nov 6, 2019
BLT Test Moorings Recovered

A Step Beyond

Exploring physical oceanography through dance
Oct 29, 2019
A Step Beyond

Research Cruise Iceland 2019

Mooring deployments in the Iceland Basin
Jun 1, 2019
Research Cruise Iceland 2019
See all posts

Experience

 
 
 
 
 

Associate Research Scientist

Scripps Institution of Oceanography / UCSD

Aug 2024 – Present La Jolla, California
 
 
 
 
 

Assistant/Associate/Full Project Scientist

Scripps Institution of Oceanography / UCSD

Jul 2014 – Jul 2024 La Jolla, California

Roles included:

  • PI and co-PI on various research projects
  • Lead mooring engineer for Multiscale Ocean Dynamics group
 
 
 
 
 

Postdoctoral Scholar

Applied Physics Laboratory / UW

Mar 2012 – Jun 2014 Seattle, Washington

Postdoctoral research on the abyssal flow through the Samoan Passage.

Mentors: Matthew Alford & James Girton

 
 
 
 
 

Graduate Student

University of Hamburg

Aug 2005 – Jun 2010 Hamburg, Germany

Dissertation On the Nordic Overturning Circulation

Diploma thesis Entrainment in the Denmark Strait Overflow Plume by meso-scale Eddies

Mentor: Detlef Quadfasel

Contact