Alfredo Aretxabaleta
My research mainly focuses in problems related to sediment transport, especially during storm events, that can affect the redistribution of sediment containing harmful algal bloom organisms and the dynamics of cohesive sediment. Another important focus is the investigation of the processes controling water level in coastal environments including tidal effects, storm events, and sea level rise.
Biography
I have a B.S. degree in Marine Sciences (1998) from the Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC) and a Ph.D. in Marine Sciences (Physical Oceanography) from UNC Chapel Hill (2005). I worked as a post-doctoral research fellow at the Department of Marine Sciences at UNC Chapel Hill, at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (AOPE), and at the Instituto de Ciencias del Mar - CSIC in Barcelona, Spain. I worked as a scientific programmer contractor at U.S. Geological Survey Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center (WHCMSC) until 2016. Now, I am an oceanographer at the WHCMSC.
Publications
Ganju, N. K., M. J. Brush, B. Rashleigh, A. L. Aretxabaleta, P. del Barrio, M. Forsyth, J. S. Grear, L. A. Harris, S. J. Lake, G. McCardell, J. O’Donnell, D. K. Ralston, R. P. Signell, J. M. Testa, J. M.P. Vaudrey, Progress and challenges in coupled hydrodynamic-ecological estuarine modeling, Estuaries and Coast, doi:10.1007/s12237-015-0011-y, 2015.
del Barrio, P., Ganju, N., Aretxabaleta, A., Hayn, M., Garcia, A., and Howarth, R., Modeling Future Scenarios of Light Attenuation and Potential Seagrass Success in a Eutrophic Estuary: Estuaries and Coasts, v. 149:,13–23, doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2014.07.005, 2014.
Aretxabaleta, A. L., Butman, B., Signell, R. P., Dalyander, P. S., Sherwood, C. R., Sheremet, V. A., McGillicuddy, D. J., Near-bottom circulation and dispersion of sediment containing Alexandrium fundyense cysts in the Gulf of Maine during 2010-2011. Deep-Sea Research II,, 103, 96-111, do1:10.1016/j.dsr2.2013.11.003, 2014.
Grifol, M., Cracia, V., Aretxabaleta, A., Guillen, J., Espino, M., and Warner, J., Formation of fine sediment deposit from a flash-flood river in the Mediterranean Sea: Journal of Geophysical Research, 119, 5837–5853, doi:10.1002/2014JC010187, 2014.
Lough, R. G., Aretxabaleta, A. L. Transport and retention of vertically migrating adult mysid and decapod shrimp in the tidal front on Georges Bank. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 514, 119–135, doi:10.3354/meps10977, 2014.
Butman, B., Aretxabaleta, A. L., Dickhudt, P. J., Dalyander, P. S., Sherwood, C. R., Anderson, D. M., Keafer, B. A., Signell, R. P., Investigating the importance of sediment resuspension in Alexandrium fundyense cyst population dynamics in the Gulf of Maine. Deep-Sea Research II,, 103, 79-95, doi:10.1016/j.dsr2.2013.10.011, 2014.
Aretxabaleta, A. L., B. Butman, and N. K. Ganju, Water level response in back-barrier bays unchanged following Hurricane Sandy, Geophys. Res. Lett., 41, doi:10.1002/2014GL059957, 2014.
Ganju, N., Aretxabaleta, A., and Miselis, J., Physical and biogeochemical controls on light attenuation in a eutrophic, back-barrier estuary: Biogeosciencess, 11(24), 7193-7205, doi:10.5194/bgd-11-12183-2014, 2014.
Grifoll, M., A. L. Aretxabaleta, J. L. Pelegri, M. Espino, J. C. Warner, A. Sanchez-Arcilla. Seasonal circulation over the Catalan inner-shelf (Northwest Mediterranean Sea), J. Geophys. Res., doi:10.1002/jgrc.20403, 2013.
Aretxabaleta, A. L., K. W. Smith, Multi-regime non-Gaussian data filling for incomplete ocean datasets. J. Marine Syst., 119-120 , 11-18, doi:10.1016/j.jmarsys.2013.03.001, 2013.
Science and Products
Coastal Model Applications and Field Measurements
Numerical models are used by scientists, engineers, coastal managers, and the public to understand and predict processes in the coastal ocean. This project supports the development and application of open-source coastal models and has several objectives: 1) improve the code of numerical sediment-transport models by implementing new or improved algorithms; 2) obtain measurements of coastal...
Physical response of a back-barrier estuary to a post-tropical cyclone
This paper presents a modeling investigation of the hydrodynamic and sediment transport response of Chincoteague Bay (VA/MD, USA) to Hurricane Sandy using the Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere-Wave-Sediment-Transport (COAWST) modeling system. Several simulation scenarios with different combinations of remote and local forces were conducted to identify the...
Beudin, Alexis; Ganju, Neil Kamal; Defne, Zafer; Aretxabaleta, Alfredo Sensitivity analysis of a coupled hydrodynamic-vegetation model using the effectively subsampled quadratures method
Coastal hydrodynamics can be greatly affected by the presence of submerged aquatic vegetation. The effect of vegetation has been incorporated into the Coupled-Ocean-Atmosphere-Wave-Sediment Transport (COAWST) Modeling System. The vegetation implementation includes the plant-induced three-dimensional drag, in-canopy wave-induced streaming, and the...
Kalra, Tarandeep S.; Aretxabaleta, Alfredo; Seshadri, Pranay; Ganju, Neil K.; Beudin, Alexis Observations and a linear model of water level in an interconnected inlet-bay system
A system of barrier islands and back-barrier bays occurs along southern Long Island, New York, and in many coastal areas worldwide. Characterizing the bay physical response to water level fluctuations is needed to understand flooding during extreme events and evaluate their relation to geomorphological changes. Offshore sea level is one of the...
Aretxabaleta, Alfredo; Ganju, Neil K.; Butman, Bradford; Signell, Richard Progress and challenges in coupled hydrodynamic-ecological estuarine modeling
Numerical modeling has emerged over the last several decades as a widely accepted tool for investigations in environmental sciences. In estuarine research, hydrodynamic and ecological models have moved along parallel tracks with regard to complexity, refinement, computational power, and incorporation of uncertainty. Coupled hydrodynamic-ecological...
Ganju, Neil K.; Brush, Mark J.; Rashleigh, Brenda; Aretxabaleta, Alfredo L.; del Barrio, Pilar; Grear, Jason S.; Harris, Lora A.; Lake, Samuel J.; McCardell, Grant; O'Donnell, James; Ralston, David K.; Signell, Richard P.; Testa, Jeremy; Vaudrey, Jamie M. P. Estimating time-dependent connectivity in marine systems
Hydrodynamic connectivity describes the sources and destinations of water parcels within a domain over a given time. When combined with biological models, it can be a powerful concept to explain the patterns of constituent dispersal within marine ecosystems. However, providing connectivity metrics for a given domain is a three-dimensional problem...
Defne, Zafer; Ganju, Neil K.; Aretxabaleta, Alfredo Physical and biogeochemical controls on light attenuation in a eutrophic, back-barrier estuary
Light attenuation is a critical parameter governing the ecological function of shallow estuaries. In these systems primary production is often dominated by benthic macroalgae and seagrass; thus light penetration to the bed is of primary importance. We quantified light attenuation in three seagrass meadows in Barnegat Bay, New Jersey, a shallow...
Ganju, Neil K.; Miselis, Jennifer L.; Aretxabaleta, Alfredo L. Formation of fine sediment deposit from a flash flood river in the Mediterranean Sea
We identify the mechanisms controlling fine deposits on the inner-shelf in front of the Besòs River, in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea. This river is characterized by a flash flood regime discharging large amounts of water (more than 20 times the mean water discharge) and sediment in very short periods lasting from hours to few days. Numerical...
Grifoll, Manel; Gracia, Vicenç; Aretxabaleta, Alfredo L.; Guillén, Jorge; Espino, Manuel; Warner, John C. Modeling future scenarios of light attenuation and potential seagrass success in a eutrophic estuary
Estuarine eutrophication has led to numerous ecological changes, including loss of seagrass beds. One potential cause of these losses is a reduction in light availability due to increased attenuation by phytoplankton. Future sea level rise will also tend to reduce light penetration and modify seagrass habitat. In the present study, we integrate a...
del Barrio, Pilar; Ganju, Neil K.; Aretxabaleta, Alfredo L.; Hayn, Melanie; García, Andrés; Howarth, Robert W. Transport and retention of vertically migrating adult mysid and decapod shrimp in the tidal front on Georges Bank
Vertical profiles of the adult epibenthic shrimp Neomysis americana and Crangon septemspinosus obtained during June 1985 were used to simulate possible rates of ascent from bottom (40 to 50 m) to near surface at night and return by day, and the consequence of these rates on their horizontal distribution. Numerical particles were released at the...
Lough, R. Gregory; Aretxabaleta, Alfredo L.