Andrew J. (Drew) Lucas

I work with the engineers and technicians in the Multiscale Ocean Dynamics group to design and build in situ platforms that gather physical and biogeochemical observations of high spatial and temporal resolution. These data allow for quantitative assessment of budgets of physical dynamics (energy, heat, buoyancy fluxes, turbulent dissipation rates) and biogeochemically relevant processes (nutrient and carbon fluxes, transport and mixing). My aims are to study upper ocean physical dynamics and air-sea interactions, and to elucidate the imprint of the physical nature of the sea on primary producers at the temporal and spatial scales relevant to the organisms.

I hold a joint appointment at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and at the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California, San Diego.

My ongoing projects include 1) continued development of the Wirewalker wave powered profiler, 2) continued development of fiber optic distributed temperature sensing techniques for coastal oceanography, 3) the study of internal tide dynamics over the Southern California inner shelf, including the importance of submarine canyons, 4) the study of air-sea interactions, monsoon prediction, and submesoscale ocean processes, 5) investigation of wind-driven variability in diurnally forced coastal systems, and 6) assessment of the environmental impact of coastal wastewater discharges.

My current teaching (2017) includes SIO 60: Experiences in Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences, MAE 3: Introduction to Design, and MAE 217: Development of in situ oceanographic instrumentation.

I hold degrees from Pomona College (BA, Biology), and Scripps Institution of Oceanography (M.Sc. and Ph.D, Oceanography). I have received a Fulbright Fellowship (Oceanography, Argentina, 1999-2000), the E.W. Fager Award (Excellence in graduate student teaching, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, 2006), an NSF International Postdoctoral Fellowship (Oceanography, University of Cape Town, South Africa, 2010-2011), and the Office of Naval Research (ONR) Young Investigator Program (YIP) award (2017-2022).