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Physical Oceanography Lab
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A lab that explores global-scale climate variability through the links between the ocean and the atmosphere.
AboutAbout the lab
Unraveling climate variability through ocean-atmosphere interactions
The Physical Oceanography Lab studies the variability that arises from interactions among the atmosphere, the ocean, and the land surface, focusing on the parts in which the ocean plays a major role.
It uses a variety of methods, including ocean observations from research vessels, analysis of existing data, and numerical modeling.
Taking a perspective on basin-scale general circulation, the lab also studies large-scale, long-term atmospheric processes that affect the ocean.
The lab's ideal is for faculty and students to make use of their respective strengths, with their work overlapping and developing together.
Key terms
- air-sea interaction
- The mechanism by which the ocean and the atmosphere exchange heat and momentum and affect each other's state.
- water mass
- A body of seawater with nearly uniform properties such as temperature and salinity.
- subduction
- The process by which water at the ocean surface sinks into the ocean interior below.
- El Niño
- A phenomenon in which sea surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific stay higher than normal.
NewsLab news
View More ↗ResearchResearch themes
The lab aims to understand the actual state of variability on various timescales in the coupled atmosphere-ocean-land system, to clarify its mechanisms, and to explore the possibility of prediction. It studies the parts in which the ocean is deeply involved through analysis of observational data and numerical simulation.
*Illustrative imageMid-Latitude Air-Sea Interaction
Using analysis of observational data and numerical simulation, the lab studies the interaction between the atmosphere and the ocean in mid-latitudes. It also evaluates how changes in the paths of currents such as the Kuroshio affect the climate of Japan and the Northern Hemisphere.
*Illustrative imageGlobal Warming and Ocean Change
The lab analyzes how the ocean changes with global warming and how those changes affect weather and climate.
*Illustrative imageFormation and Movement of Water Masses
Using Argo data and other sources, the lab studies the whole process by which water masses form, are subducted, move and spread, and mix until they disappear. The main targets are Subtropical Mode Water, Central Mode Water, and intermediate water.
*Illustrative imageEl Niño and Decadal Variability
The lab studies the physical mechanisms behind phenomena such as El Niño and Pacific decadal variability.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Physical Oceanography Lab are faculty members, project researchers, doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students, and administrative assistants.As of 2026
- ProfessorShusaku Sugimoto
- Associate ProfessorShoichi Kizu
- Professor (Concurrent)Toshio Suga
- Professor (Concurrent)Keith Rodgers
- Professor (Concurrent)Yoichi Ishikawa
- Assistant Professor (Concurrent)Shota Katsura
VoicesStudent voices
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Anton Dohrn am Liegeplatz in Bremerhaven” Manfred Stein / CC BY-SA 3.0 de (cropped)
- Mid-Latitude Air-Sea Interaction: “Gulf Stream Sea Surface Currents and Temperatures NASA SVS” Greg Shirah (lead animator) / Public domain (cropped)
- Global Warming and Ocean Change: “Ice-melting sealevel-rise3 hg” Hannes Grobe / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Formation and Movement of Water Masses: “Argo float deployed from research vessel” NOAA GOMO (Global Ocean Monitoring and Observing Program) / Public domain (cropped)
- El Niño and Decadal Variability: “El Nino (NESDIS )” NOAA / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Seismology and Volcanology Lab): “Ash Plume and Ash Fall of May 1994 Eruption of Mount Pagan volcano in Northern Mariana Islands” Frank Trusdell, USGS. / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Satellite Oceanography Lab (Ocean Environment Observation Section)): “NASA satellite view of Southern Ocean phytoplankton bloom (crop)” NASA Suomi NPP satellite / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Climate Physics Lab (Atmospheric Radiation Observation Section)): “Cumulus congestus cloud in sky” Piyushv99 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Meteorology and Atmospheric Dynamics Lab): “Cumulonimbus sunset panorama, Albury NSW Australia” Thennicke / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
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