Speakers
Education Session
This presentation examines how weather systems, including cold fronts and tropical cyclones, influence coastal ocean processes in the northern Gulf. Using examples from shelf waters, tidal inlets, and estuaries, it demonstrates how weather-driven wind fields can be quantitatively linked to currents, water transport, and water level variability through, numerical, statistical and observational approaches.
Dr. Li is a Professor at Louisiana State University, where he has spent more than 20 years on teaching and research. With training in Atmospheric Physics and Physical Oceanography, his work focuses on the interactions between weather systems and the coastal ocean, particularly storm surge and estuary-shelf exchange in the Northern Gulf.
As the Director of the Wave-Current-Surge Information System (WAVCIS) and a GCOOS member since 2011, Dr. Li supports the region's observational infrastructure through the maintenance of real-time stations and long-term offshore moorings. His research methodology integrates theoretical modeling, numerical simulations, and observations. Through numerical simulations and dozens of intensive tidal cycle surveys across the continental shelf and estuaries - spanning the East Coast, Gulf Coast, and Arctic lagoons - he has led the efforts to quantify the fluxes of water, salt, carbon, and nutrients. Recently, his work has included a collaborative effort on the installation of High-Frequency Radars along the Louisiana coast.
He has over 150 peer-reviewed publications and a monograph textbook on ocean data analysis published by Cambridge University Press. This background in modeling, data processing, and instrumentation informs his commitment to ensuring that regional observing systems provide high-quality data for scientific research, practical applications, and education.