Andrew F. Thompson
Andrew F. Thompson
John S. and Sherry Chen Professor of Environmental Science and Engineering; Director, Ronald and Maxine Linde Center for Global Environmental Science; Executive Officer for Environmental Science and Engineering
B.S., Dartmouth College, 2000; C.A.S., University of Cambridge, 2001, M.Phil., 2002; Ph.D., Scripps Institute of Oceanography, 2006. Assistant Professor, Caltech, 2011-17; Professor, 2017-24; Chen Professor, 2024-; Academic Officer, 2019-22; Director, Linde Center, 2023-; Executive Officer, 2023-.
Research Summary
A myriad of physical processes, spanning scales from centimeters to hundreds of kilometers, contribute to the ocean circulation. Improvements in observational techniques as well as numerical models are just now allowing us to develop and test theories on how the ocean mesoscale, lengths scales of tens of kilometers and times scales from days to weeks, influence the global circulation. The ocean mesoscale is dominated by coherent structures, such as eddies and jets, which are important for the stirring and distribution of ocean properties such as temperature and salinity. Improved understanding of how the ocean mesoscale mediates the circulation's response to changing atmospheric forcing can help us to better model past and future climates. My research uses a combination of sea-going observations, idealized numerical models and theory to study how the ocean mesoscale influences the transport of heat, chemicals and biology in the ocean and how this transport in turn impacts global climate. I am especially interested in Southern Ocean dynamics, which is a key part of the global circulation both for the formation of unique water masses and for exchange between different ocean basins.
Research Options
Environmental Science and Engineering;
Publications
Please see Andrew Thompson's publications page:
2026-27
ESE 102. Earth's Oceans.
9 units (3-0-6); first term, 2026-27.
This course will provide a basic introduction to physical, chemical, and biological properties of Earth's ocean. The course is divided into three parts that address various aspects of the marine carbon cycle, including carbon and tracer transport by the ocean circulation, carbonate chemistry, and fixation/respiration of carbon by biological processes. These parts are tied to three key questions that highlight the ocean's role in the global climate system: What processes contribute to the redistribution of heat and other tracers in the ocean. What controls the rate at which heat and carbon is exchanged between the atmosphere and the ocean? How do marine biological processes influence the storage of carbon in the deep ocean? The course will also provide perspectives on ocean observational and modeling techniques and how these tools are used to project future changes to Earth’s climate.
Instructor: Thompson
Instructor: Thompson
ESE 112. Earth's Carbon Cycle.
6 units (2-0-4); third term, 2026-27.
Prerequisites: ESE 103 or instructor's permission..
An exploration of the research frontier on Earth's carbon cycle. Starting from an overview of the major reservoirs and fluxes of carbon among the atmosphere, ocean, land biosphere, and lithosphere, the course moves quickly to frontier problems, including the partitioning of anthropogenic CO₂ between the ocean and land sinks, the spatiotemporal variability of terrestrial and oceanic carbon fluxes, the role of disturbance and ecosystem dynamics, and the response of the carbon cycle to a changing climate. Modern observational datasets—including atmospheric CO₂ records, satellite retrievals of column CO₂ and solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence, eddy-covariance measurements, as well as ship-based and float-based ocean carbon observations—are used to constrain and evaluate carbon cycle models. Through hands-on projects, students can develop, test, and critically analyze models of the carbon cycle and confront them with contemporary data. Enrollment is limited to 15 students.
Instructors: Dukes, Frankenberg, Michalak, Schneider, Thompson, Zakem
Instructors: Dukes, Frankenberg, Michalak, Schneider, Thompson, Zakem
ESE 137. Polar Oceanography.
9 units (3-0-6); third term, 2026-27.
Prerequisites: ESE 131 or instructor's permission.
This course focuses on high latitude processes related to the Earth's oceans and their interaction with the cryosphere, including glaciers, ice shelves and sea ice. The course starts with introductory lectures related to regional circulation features, water mass modification, sea ice dynamics, and ocean-ice interactions. The second half of the course will focus on a single topic, with input from the students, and will be explored in detail through the scientific literature and through individual projects.
Offered 2026-27.
Instructor: Thompson
Instructor: Thompson
2025-26
ESE 102. Earth's Oceans.
9 units (3-0-6); first term, 2025-26.
This course will provide a basic introduction to physical, chemical, and biological properties of Earth's ocean. The course is divided into three parts that address various aspects of the marine carbon cycle, including carbon and tracer transport by the ocean circulation, carbonate chemistry, and fixation/respiration of carbon by biological processes. These parts are tied to three key questions that highlight the ocean's role in the global climate system: What processes contribute to changes in global and local sea level? How and where does the ocean exchange carbon dioxide with the atmosphere? Why is a warming climate associated with ocean acidification and what are the biological consequences? The course will also provide perspectives on how we observe and model the ocean and how these tools are used in climate predictions.
Instructor: Thompson
Instructor: Thompson
ESE 144. Climate from Space.
9 units (3-0-6); third term, 2025-26.
This class will provide an overview of how we study the Earth's climate system using satellite remote sensing; a series of core lectures and guest lectures will be jointly taught by Caltech faculty and JPL scientists. Topics that will be covered include Introduction to the climate system; introduction to radiative transfer, retrieval methods and data assimilation; Earth's energy balance; atmospheric physics and composition; ocean dynamics and ice physics; monitoring the carbon cycle from space.
Offered 2025-26.
Instructors: Teixeira, Thompson
Instructors: Teixeira, Thompson
2024-25
ESE 102. Earth's Oceans.
9 units (3-0-6); first term, 2024-25.
This course will provide a basic introduction to physical, chemical, and biological properties of Earth's ocean. The course is divided into three parts that address various aspects of the marine carbon cycle, including carbon and tracer transport by the ocean circulation, carbonate chemistry, and fixation/respiration of carbon by biological processes. These parts are tied to three key questions that highlight the ocean's role in the global climate system: What processes contribute to changes in global and local sea level? How and where does the ocean exchange carbon dioxide with the atmosphere? Why is a warming climate associated with ocean acidification and what are the biological consequences? The course will also provide perspectives on how we observe and model the ocean and how these tools are used in climate predictions.
Instructor: Thompson
Instructor: Thompson
ESE 137. Polar Oceanography.
9 units (3-0-6); third term, 2024-25.
Prerequisites: ESE 131 or instructor's permission.
This course focuses on high latitude processes related to the Earth's oceans and their interaction with the cryosphere, including glaciers, ice shelves and sea ice. The course starts with introductory lectures related to regional circulation features, water mass modification and ice dynamics. The second half of the course will focus on a single topic, with input from the students, and will be explored in detail through the scientific literature and through individual projects.
Instructor: Thompson
Instructor: Thompson