Internships

Andrew Budnick ’13

The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is a critical component of ­global water mass circulation, as the North Atlantic is one of the main locations where surface water sinks to the bottom of the ocean. This summer, I had the opportunity to study the oxygen and other water properties of the North Atlantic, both in ­models at the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) and at sea on the German research vessel RV Meteor. In the lab, I compiled time series from ­previously measured data from this area to examine annual and decadal variability in water mass properties. On board the ship, I was on the team responsible for measuring oxygen in water samples taken at various points in the water column. The oxygen I measured in samples was used to calibrate electronically measured data ultimately destined for ­further research and online data repositories such as those that I used while in the lab. At the same time, I learned both about these water masses as well as how to carry out ­experimental ­oceanography on board a ship.