Jennifer Mackinnon

Jennifer Mackinnon is a Professor of Physical Oceanography at the Marine Physical Laboratory, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego. Her research focuses on small-scale ocean dynamics, including internal waves, submesoscale instabilities, and ocean mixing processes. She leads the Climate Process Team developing mixing parameterizations for global climate models, and her work integrates observations, numerical simulations, and field studies.

Education: B.A. in Physics from Swarthmore College (1995), M.S. and Ph.D. in Oceanography from University of Washington (1999, 2002). Her thesis explored internal waves and mixing on the New England continental shelf.

Key research areas include internal-wave driven mixing, Arctic Ocean dynamics, and Bay of Bengal air-sea interactions. She has conducted extensive fieldwork, including expeditions to the Luzon Strait, SW Indian Ridge, and Beaufort Sea. Collaborative projects involve over 20 principal investigators globally.

Recent projects include studying turbulent heat fluxes in the Arctic, internal tide variability in Iceland Basin, and the role of submesoscale dynamics in climate models. Her work is funded by NSF, ONR, and other agencies, with a focus on advancing climate prediction and ocean modeling accuracy.

Labs/Teams: Marine Physical Laboratory (SIO), Climate Process Team (CPT), and multi-institutional collaborations in oceanography and climate science.