James Carton

James Carton is a Professor in the Atmospheric and Oceanic Science (AOSC) Department at the University of Maryland. He leads the Ocean Climate Lab, focusing on ocean and sea ice systems' interactions with the atmosphere, including heat/mass/momentum exchange, ocean circulation, and carbon sequestration. His work leverages computational and observational tools, such as the Blended Ocean Surface Currents (BOSC) project and the OISST version3 collaboration with NOAA. Key affiliations include ESSIC (Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center), AMSC (Applied Mathematics & Scientific Computation), and NASA's Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO).

Research Themes:

• Historical ocean/sea ice climate via reanalysis products (SODA3/4, RARE, OISSTvX, BOSC)
• Satellite observations of sea surface temperature, height, and salinity
• Climate studies on tropical and Arctic systems

Recent Projects: The BOSC project (beta release 2022) provides high-resolution surface currents using geostrophic/Ekman dynamics and satellite data. Collaborations include improving OISST with NOAA scientists to refine SST analysis techniques.

Advising & Teams: Advises PhD students in oceanography and climate science, with notable collaborations on Arctic oceanography and tropical Atlantic variability. Co-leads U.S. CLIVAR Salinity Science Working Group.

Lab Activities: Develops ocean reanalysis systems (SODA3/4) and explores impacts of human activities on ocean systems. Active in NASA GMAO and global ocean observation initiatives.