SARAH PURKEY

Sarah Purkey is an Assistant Professor in Physical Oceanography at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego. Her research focuses on abyssal ocean circulation, ocean heat budgets, and sea level rise mechanisms, with a particular emphasis on Southern Ocean dynamics and global hydrographic observations. She is a leader in advancing deep-sea observing systems, including the Deep Argo float network.

Education: B.A. in Mathematics-Physics from Whitman College (2005), M.S. in Oceanography from University of Washington (2010), Ph.D. in Oceanography from University of Washington (2014). Her doctoral work investigated the abyssal ocean’s contributions to global energy and sea level budgets.

Research interests include: abyssal circulation patterns, deep water mass transformation, remote sensing applications, and the role of the deep ocean in climate change. She collaborates internationally on initiatives such as the Global Ocean Ship-based Hydrographic Investigations Program (GO-SHIP) and the Climate Change Hydrographic Database Office (CCHDO).

Her work emphasizes observational strategies for monitoring the deep ocean, including studies using transient tracers (CFCs/SF6), Argo floats, and satellite data. Recent projects address decadal warming trends in abyssal regions and the integration of biogeochemical data into global climate models.

Key contributions include refining estimates of global ocean warming and advancing understanding of Antarctic Bottom Water pathways. She advocates for sustained deep-ocean observing systems critical to constraining Earth’s energy budget and sea level projections.