Dani Jones

Dani Jones

they/them

Marine Data Scientist

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A list of all the posts and pages found on the site. For you robots out there is an XML version available for digesting as well.

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Posts

Future Blog Post

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Blog Post number 1

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portfolio

Unsupervised Classification Applied to Earth System Data

Applying unsupervised classification methods to a variety of Earth system datasets, including Southern Ocean temperature profiles, Weddell Gyre thermohaline structures, ozone profiles, sea level data, and extratropical cyclones.

publications

Analysis of stable isotope ratios in blood of tracked wandering albatrosses fails to distinguish a δ13C gradient within their winter foraging areas in the southwest Atlantic Ocean

Published in Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry, 2015

Abstract:

Recommended citation: Ceia, F.R., J. Ramos, R. Phillips, Y. Cherel, D.C. Jones, R. Vieira, and J. Xavier (2015). "Analysis of stable isotope ratios in blood of tracked wandering albatrosses fails to distinguish a δ13C gradient within their winter foraging areas in the southwest Atlantic Ocean", Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry, 29, 2328-2336. https://doi.org/10.1002/rcm.7401
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Published in , 1900

Diapycnal mixing in the Southern Ocean diagnosed using the DIMES tracer and realistic velocity fields

Published in Journal of Geophysical Research - Oceans, 2018

Abstract:

Recommended citation: Mackay, N., J.R. Ledwell, M.-J. Messias, A. Naveira-Garabato, J.A. Brearley, A. Meijers, D.C. Jones, and A.J. Watson (2018). "Diapycnal mixing in the Southern Ocean diagnosed using the DIMES tracer and realistic velocity fields," Journal of Geophysical Research - Oceans, 123. https://doi.org/10.1002/2017JC013536
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Heat distribution in the Southeast Pacific is only weakly sensitive to high-latitude heat flux and wind stress

Published in Journal of Geophysical Research - Oceans, 2019

The Southern Ocean features regionally varying ventilation pathways that transport heat and carbon from the surface ocean to the interior thermocline on timescales of decades to centuries, but the factors that control the distribution of heat along these pathways are not well understood. In this study, we use a global ocean state estimate (ECCOv4) to (1) define the recently ventilated interior Pacific (RVP) using numerical passive tracer experiments over a 10-year period and (2) use an adjoint approach to calculate the sensitivities of the RVP heat content (RVPh) to changes in net heat flux and wind stress. We find that RVPh is most sensitive to local heat flux and wind stress anomalies north of the sea surface height contours that delineate the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, with especially high sensitivities over the South Pacific Gyre. Surprisingly, RVPh is not especially sensitive to changes at higher latitudes. We perform a set of step response experiments over the South Pacific Gyre, the subduction region, and the high-latitude Southern Ocean. In consistency with the adjoint sensitivity fields, RVPh is most sensitive to wind stress curl over the subtropical gyre, which alter isopycnal heave, and it is only weakly sensitive to changes at higher latitudes. Our results suggest that despite the localized nature of mode water subduction hot spots, changes in basin-scale pressure gradients are an important controlling factor on RVPh. Because basin-scale wind stress is expected to change in the coming decades to centuries, our results may have implications for climate, via the atmosphere/ocean partitioning of heat.

Recommended citation: Jones, D.C., Boland, E.*, Meijers, A., Forget, G., Josey, S., Sallee, J-B., and Shuckburgh, E. (2019). Heat distribution in the Southeast Pacific is only weakly sensitive to high-latitude heat flux and wind stress. Journal of Geophysical Research - Oceans, 124. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JC015460
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Unsupervised clustering of Southern Ocean Argo float profiles

Published in Journal of Geophysical Research - Oceans, 2019

The Southern Ocean has complex spatial variability, characterized by sharp fronts, steeply tilted isopycnals, and deep seasonal mixed layers. Methods of defining Southern Ocean spatial structures traditionally rely on somewhat ad hoc combinations of physical, chemical, and dynamic properties. As a step toward an alternative approach for describing spatial variability in temperature, here we apply an unsupervised classification technique (i.e., Gaussian mixture modeling or GMM) to Southern Ocean Argo float temperature profiles.

Recommended citation: Jones, D.C., H.J. Holt, A. Meijers, and E. Shuckburgh (2019). "Unsupervised clustering of Southern Ocean Argo float profiles." Journal of Geophysical Research - Oceans, 124, 390-402. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JC014629
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On the distinctiveness of observed oceanic raindrop distributions

Published in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 2019

Representation of the drop size distribution (DSD) of rainfall is a key element of characterizing precipitation in models and observations, with a functional form necessary to calculate the precipitation flux and the drops’ interaction with radiation. With newly available oceanic disdrometer measurements, this study investigates the validity of commonly used DSDs, potentially useful a priori constraints for retrievals, and the impacts of DSD variability on radiative transfer.

Recommended citation: Duncan, D.I., Eriksson, P., Pfreundschuh, S., Klepp, C., and Jones, D.C. (2019). "On the distinctiveness of observed oceanic raindrop distributions." Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 19, 6969-6984. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-6969-2019
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Gaussian mixture modeling describes the geography of the surface carbon budget

Published in Proceedings of the 9th International Workshop on Climate Informatics: CI 2019, 2019

We use an unsupervised classification technique (i.e., Gaussian mixture modeling or GMM) to identify ocean regions with similar balances between processes that determine the surface budget of dissolved inorganic carbon. GMM objectively locates sub-populations in the distribution of carbon budget terms. We use a simple four-class description and find regimes that are broadly consistent with classical theoretical frameworks.

Recommended citation: Jones, D.C., and Ito, T. (2019). Gaussian mixture modeling describes the geography of the surface carbon budget. In: Brajard, J., Charantonis, A., Chen, C., & Runge, J. (Eds.), Proceedings of the 9th International Workshop on Climate Informatics: CI 2019 (pp. 108-113). University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR). https://doi.org/10.5065/y82j-f154
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The Sensitivity of Southeast Pacific Heat Distribution to Local and Remote Changes in Ocean Properties

Published in Journal of Physical Oceanography, 2020

Recommended citation: Jones, D.C., Boland, E.*, Meijers, A.J., Forget, G., Josey, S., Sallee, J., Shuckburgh, E. (2020). "The Sensitivity of Southeast Pacific Heat Distribution to Local and Remote Changes in Ocean Properties." Journal of Physical Oceanography, 50, 773–790. https://doi.org/10.1175/JPO-D-19-0155.1
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Self-shading and meltwater spreading control the transition from light to iron limitation in an Antarctic coastal polynya

Published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 2021

Dotson Ice Shelf (DIS) in West Antarctica is undergoing rapid basal melting driven by intrusions of warm, saline Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW) onto the continental shelf. Meltwater from DIS is thought to influence biology in the adjacent Amundsen Sea Polynya (ASP), which exhibits the highest net primary productivity (NPP) per unit area of any coastal polynya in the Southern Ocean.

Recommended citation: Twelves, A., Goldberg, D.N., Henley, S.F., Mazloff, M.R., and Jones, D.C. (2021). "Self-shading and meltwater spreading control the transition from light to iron limitation in an Antarctic coastal polynya." Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 126, e2020JC016636. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JC016636
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Seasonal Arctic sea ice forecasting with probabilistic deep learning

Published in Nature Communications, 2021

Anthropogenic warming has led to an unprecedented year-round reduction in Arctic sea ice extent. This has far-reaching consequences for indigenous and local communities, polar ecosystems, and global climate, motivating the need for accurate seasonal sea ice forecasts.

Recommended citation: Andersson, T., Hosking, J.S., Perez-Ortiz, M., Paige, B., Elliott, A., Russell, C., Law, S., Jones, D.C., Wilkinson, J., Phillips, T., Byrne, J., Tietsche, S., Sarojini, B.B., Blanchard-Wrigglesworth, E., Aksenov, Y., Downie, R., and Shuckburgh, E. (2021). "Seasonal Arctic sea ice forecasting with probabilistic deep learning." Nature Communications, 12, 5124. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-25257-4
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Bridging observations, theory, and numerical simulation of the ocean using Machine Learning

Published in Environmental Research Letters, 2021

Progress within physical oceanography has been concurrent with the increasing sophistication of tools available for its study. The incorporation of machine learning (ML) techniques offers exciting possibilities for advancing the capacity and speed of established methods and for making substantial and serendipitous discoveries. Beyond vast amounts of complex data ubiquitous in many modern scientific fields, the study of the ocean poses a combination of unique challenges that ML can help address.

Recommended citation: Sonnewald, M., Leguensat, R., Jones, D.C., Dueben, P., Brajard, J., and Balaji, V. (2021). "Bridging observations, theory, and numerical simulation of the ocean using Machine Learning." Environmental Research Letters, 16, 073008. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac0eb0
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Untangling local and remote influences in two major petrel habitats in the oligotrophic Southern Ocean

Published in Global Change Biology, 2021

Ocean circulation connects geographically distinct ecosystems across a wide range of spatial and temporal scales via exchanges of physical and biogeochemical properties. Remote oceanographic processes can be especially important for ecosystems in the Southern Ocean, where the Antarctic Circumpolar Current transports properties across ocean basins through both advection and mixing.

Recommended citation: Jones, D.C., Ceia, F.R., Murphy, E., Delord, K., Furness, R.W., Verdy, A., Mazloff, M., Phillips, R.A., Sagar, P.M., Sallee, J.-B., Schreiber, B., Thompson, D.R., Torres, L.G., Underwood, P.J., Weimerskirch, H., and Xavier, J.C. (2021). "Untangling local and remote influences in two major petrel habitats in the oligotrophic Southern Ocean." Global Change Biology, 27, 5773–5785. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15839
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Defining Southern Ocean fronts using unsupervised classification

Published in Ocean Science, 2021

Oceanographic fronts are transitions between thermohaline structures with different characteristics. Such transitions are ubiquitous, and their locations and properties affect how the ocean operates as part of the global climate system. In the Southern Ocean, fronts have classically been defined using a small number of continuous, circumpolar features in sea surface height or dynamic height. Modern observational and theoretical developments are challenging and expanding this traditional framework to accommodate a more complex view of fronts.

Recommended citation: Thomas, S.D.A., Jones, D.C., Faul, A., Mackie, E., and Pauthenet, E. (2021). "Defining Southern Ocean fronts using unsupervised classification." Ocean Science, 17, 1545–1562. https://doi.org/10.5194/os-17-1545-2021
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Local and remote influences on the heat content of Southern Ocean mode water formation regions

Published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 2021

The Southern Ocean (SO) is a crucial region for the global ocean uptake of heat and carbon. There are large uncertainties in the observations of fluxes of heat and carbon between the atmosphere and the ocean mixed layer, which lead to large uncertainties in the amount entering into the global overturning circulation.

Recommended citation: Boland, E., Jones, D.C., Meijers, A.J.S., Forget, G., and Josey, S.A. (2021). "Local and remote influences on the heat content of Southern Ocean mode water formation regions." Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 126, e2020JC016585. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JC016585
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Causes of the 2015 North Atlantic cold anomaly in a global state estimate

Published in Ocean Science, 2022

The subpolar North Atlantic is an important part of the global ocean and climate system, with SST variability in the region influencing the climate of Europe and North America. While the majority of the global ocean exhibited higher-than-average surface temperatures in 2015, the subpolar North Atlantic experienced record low temperatures. This interannual cold anomaly is thought to have been driven by surface forcing, but detailed questions remain about how the anomaly was created and maintained.

Recommended citation: Sanders, R.N.C., Jones, D.C., Josey, S., Sinha, B., and Forget, G. (2022). "Causes of the 2015 North Atlantic cold anomaly in a global state estimate." Ocean Science. https://doi.org/10.5194/os-18-953-2022
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Ventilation of the Southern Ocean pycnocline

Published in Annual Review of Marine Science, 2022

Ocean ventilation is the transfer of tracers and young water from the surface down into the ocean interior. The tracers that can be transported to depth include anthropogenic heat and carbon, both of which are critical to understanding future climate trajectories. Ventilation occurs in both high- and midlatitude regions, but it is the southern midlatitudes that are responsible for the largest fraction of anthropogenic heat and carbon uptake; such Southern Ocean ventilation is the focus of this review.

Recommended citation: Morrison, A., Waugh, D., Hogg, A., Jones, D.C., and Abernathey, R. (2022). "Ventilation of the Southern Ocean pycnocline." Annual Review of Marine Science, 14:1. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-marine-010419-011012
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Ocean heat content responses to changing anthropogenic aerosol forcing strength: Regional and multi-decadal variability

Published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 2023

Recommended citation: Boland, E.J.D., Dittus, A.J., Jones, D. C., Josey, S.A., and Sinha, B. (2023). "Ocean heat content responses to changing anthropogenic aerosol forcing strength: Regional and multi-decadal variability." Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 128, e2022JC018725. https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JC018725
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Finale: impact of the ORCHESTRA/ENCORE programmes on Southern Ocean heat and carbon understanding

Published in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, 2023

Recommended citation: Meijers, A. J. S., Meredith, M. P., Shuckburgh, E. F., Kent, E. C., Munday, D. R., Firing, Y. L., King, B., Smyth, T. J., Leng, M. J., Nurser, A. J. G., Hewitt, H. T., Abrahamsen, E. P., Weiss, A., Yang, M., Bell, T. G., Brearley, J. A., Boland, E. J. D., Jones, D. C., Josey, S. A., Owen, R. P., Grist, J. P., Blaker, A. T., Biri, S., Yelland, M. J., Pimm, C., Zhou, S., Harle, J., & Cornes, R. C. (2023). "Finale: impact of the ORCHESTRA/ENCORE programmes on Southern Ocean heat and carbon understanding." Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, 381(2249), 20220070. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2022.0070
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Chlorophyll Production in the Amundsen Sea Boosts Heat Flux to Atmosphere and Weakens Heat Flux to Ice Shelves

Published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 2024

Recommended citation: Twelves, A. G., Goldberg, D. N., Holland, P. R., Henley, S. F., Mazloff, M. R., & Jones, D. C. (2024). "Chlorophyll Production in the Amundsen Sea Boosts Heat Flux to Atmosphere and Weakens Heat Flux to Ice Shelves." Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 129, e2024JC021121. https://doi.org/10.1029/2024JC021121
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Mapping Out How Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence Will Change Great Lakes Observations, Modeling, and Forecasting in the Coming Decade

Published in Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 2025

Recommended citation: Jones, D., and Coauthors (2025). "Mapping Out How Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence Will Change Great Lakes Observations, Modeling, and Forecasting in the Coming Decade." Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 106, E378–E385. https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-24-0304.1
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talks

teaching

Instructor of Physics

Undergraduate course, Georgia Southern University, Department of Physics, 2007

Taught undergraduate courses in environmental physics, solar system astronomy, and stellar/galactic astronomy while integrating research-backed active teaching methods.

Teaching Assistant, Atmospheric Science

Graduate course, Colorado State University, Department of Atmospheric Science, 2010

Assisted in teaching a year-long graduate atmospheric dynamics course, providing guest lectures and detailed feedback on homework assignments.

Instructor of Mathematics and Science

Undergraduate course, Atlanta Metropolitan State College, 2011

Taught undergraduate courses in algebra, trigonometry, calculus, and laboratory courses in physics, chemistry, and biology, fostering practical learning.

Guest Lecturer, Oceanography

Undergraduate course, Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, 2011

Delivered lectures on oceanography for upper-level undergraduate students, engaging them with real-world applications of ocean science.

General Supervision Experience

Undergraduate, Graduate & Postdoctoral Supervision, Various Institutions, 2015

Supervised and mentored undergraduate and gradue students and postdocs across diverse research projects, guiding them in developing advanced analytical skills and fostering their academic and professional growth.

Guest Lecturer & Supervisor, University of Cambridge

Graduate course & Supervision, University of Cambridge, Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, 2020

Led one-on-one and small group tutorials for undergraduate math students, focusing on computational projects and statistical physics. Also delivered graduate-level guest lectures on ocean circulation, unsupervised classification, and ocean data in the Artificial Intelligence for Environmental Risk PhD programme.