U.S. Dept. of Commerce / NOAA / OAR / PMEL / OCRD

Meghan F. Cronin

Contact Info:

NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory
7600 Sand Point Way NE
Seattle WA 98115 USA

E-Mail: Meghan.F.Cronin@noaa.gov
Tel: 206-526-6449
Fax: 206-526-6744

Research Interests

Research interests include: Air-sea interaction, upper ocean heat, salt, and momentum balances, tropical Pacific diurnal-interannual variability, equatorial dynamics, eddy-mean flow interaction, and western boundary currents.

Ocean Climate Stations

Meghan Cronin leads the Ocean Climate Stations program at NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL). Ocean Climate Stations are moored buoys that carry a suite of sensors to monitor important climate processes. PMEL's Ocean Climate Stations are part of the global network of OceanSITES time series reference sites.

stnP Ocean Station Papa at 145°W, 50°N, June 2007 - present.
KEO Kuroshio Extension Observatory at 144.5°E, 32.4°N, June 2004 - present.
J-KEO JAMSTEC-Kuroshio Extension Observatory at 146° 30'E, 37° 53'N. For Phase 1 (February 2007 - February 2008) a PMEL OCS buoy was deployed. For Phase 2 (February 2008 - present), a JAMSTEC designed K-TRITON buoy was deployed.
TAO/EPIC 95°W, 8°S - 12°N, November 1999 - November 2003.

Education

Ph.D. Physical Oceanography, University of Rhode Island, 1993.
B.A. Physics, Columbia University, 1986.

Refereed Literature (chronological)

Reprint Request

Cronin, M. F., N. Bond, J. Booth, H. Ichikawa, T. M. Joyce, K. Kelly, M. Kubota, B. Qiu, C. Reason, C. Sabine, T. Saino, T. Suga, L. D. Talley, L. Thompson, R. A. Weller. Monitoring ocean-atmosphere interactions in western boundary current extensions. OceanObs09 Community White Paper. Submitted April 2009.
Mickett, J. B., Y. L. Serra, M. F. Cronin, and M. H. Alford. Resonant forcing of mixed layer inertial motions by atmospheric easterly waves in the northeastern tropical Pacific. Submitted to J. Phys. Oceanogr., 2009.
Perez, R. C., M. F. Cronin, and W. S. Kessler. Tropical cells and secondary circulation near the northern front of the equatorial Pacific cold tongue. Submitted to J. Phys. Oceanogr., 2009.
Jiang, C.-L., L. Thompson, K. A. Kelly, M. F. Cronin. The roles of intra-seasonal Kelvin waves and tropical instability waves in SST variability along equatorial Pacific in an isopycnal ocean model. J. Climate, In Press, 2009.
Cronin, M. F. and W. S. Kessler. Near-surface shear flow in the tropical Pacific cold tongue front. J. Phys. Oceanogr., In Press, 2009.
Tomita, H., S. Iwasaki, A. Kawatsura, M. Konda, H. Ichikawa, M. F. Cronin, M. Kubota. An improved estimate of the turbulent heat flux in J-OFURO2 over the Kuroshio/Oyashio Extension region. In revision.
Cronin, M. F., C. Meinig, C. L. Sabine, H. Ichikawa, H. Tomita. Surface mooring network in the Kuroshio Extension. IEEE Systems Special Issue on GEOSS, 2(3), 424-430, 2008.
Sprintall, J., and M. F. Cronin. Upper ocean vertical structure. In: J. Steele, S. Thorpe, and K. Turekian (eds.), Encyclopedia of Ocean Sciences, First Online Update, Academic Press, London, UK, http://www.elsevierdirect.com/brochures/oceansciences/index.html, 2008.
Cronin, M. F., and J. Sprintall. Wind and buoyancy-forced upper ocean. In: J. Steele, S. Thorpe, and K. Turekian (eds.), Encyclopedia of Ocean Sciences, First Online Update, Academic Press, London, UK, http://www.elsevierdirect.com/brochures/oceansciences/index.html, 2008.
McPhaden, M. J., M. F. Cronin, and D. C. McClurg. Surface mixed layer temperature balance on seasonal time scales in the eastern tropical Pacific. J. Climate, 21, 3240-3260, 2008.
Bond, N. A. and M. F. Cronin. Regional weather patterns during anomalous air-sea fluxes at the Kuroshio Extension Observatory (KEO). J. Climate, 21,1680-1697, 2008.
Serra, Y. L., G. N. Kiladis, and M. F. Cronin. Horizontal and vertical structure of easterly waves in the Pacific ITCZ. J. Atmos. Sci., 65, 1266-1284, 2008.
Donohue, K. A., D.R. Watts, K. Tracey, M. Wimbush, J.-H. Park, N. Bond, M. Cronin, S. Chen, B. Qiu, P. Hacker, N. B. Hogg, S. R. Jayne, J. McClean, L. Rainville, H. Mitsudera, Y. Tanimoto, and S.-P. Xie. Program studies the Kuroshio Extension. EOS Trans. AGU, 89(17), 161-162, 22 April 2008.
Kubota, M., N. Iwabe, M. F. Cronin, and H. Tomita. Surface heat fluxes from the NCEP/NCAR and NCEP/DOE reanalyses at the KEO buoy site. J. Geophys. Res., 113, C02009, doi:10.1020/2007JC004338, 2008.
Fairall, C. W., T. Uttal, D. Hazen, J. Hare, M. F. Cronin, N. A. Bond, and D. E. Veron. Observations of cloud, radiation, and surface forcing in the equatorial eastern Pacific. J. Climate, 21, 655-673, 2008.
Serra, Y. L., M. F. Cronin, and G. N. Kiladis. Sub-seasonal variance of surface meteorological parameters in buoy observations and reanalyses. Geophys. Res. Let., 34, L12708, doi:10.1029/2007GL029506, 2007.
Jochum, M., M. F. Cronin, W. S. Kessler, and D. Shea. Observed horizontal temperature advection by tropical instability waves. Geophys. Res. Lett., 34, L09604, doi:10.1029/2007GL029416, 2007.
Cronin, M.F., C. W. Fairall, and M. J. McPhaden. An assessment of buoy-derived and numerical weather prediction surface heat fluxes in the tropical Pacific. J. Geophys. Res., 111, C06038, doi:10.1029/2005JC003324, 2006.
Cronin, M. F., N. A. Bond, C. W. Fairall, and R. A. Weller. Surface cloud forcing in the east Pacific stratus deck/cold tongue/ITCZ complex. J. Climate, 19(3), 392-409, 2006.
Jiang, C.-L., M. F. Cronin, K. A. Kelly, and L. Thompson. Evaluation of a hybrid satellite and NWP based turbulent heat flux product using TAO buoys. J. Geophys. Res., 110, C09007, doi:10.1029/2004JC002824, 2005.
deSzoeke, S.P., C.S. Bretherton, N.A. Bond, M. F. Cronin, and B. Morley. The mean structure of the east Pacific atmospheric boundary layer from cold tongue to ITCZ characterized by EPIC 95W observations. J. Atmos. Sci., 62, 426-442, 2005.
Cronin, M. F., S.-P. Xie, and H. Hashizume. Barometric pressure variations associated with eastern Pacific tropical instability waves. J. Climate, 16, 3050-3057, 2003.
Cronin, M. F., and M. J. McPhaden. Barrier layer formation during westerly wind bursts. J. Geophys. Res., 107, 8020, doi:10.1029/2001JC001171, 2002.
Cronin, M. F., N. Bond, C. Fairall, J. Hare, M. J. McPhaden, R. A. Weller. Enhanced oceanic and atmospheric monitoring underway in Eastern Pacific. EOS, Transactions, AGU, 83(19), pages 205, 210-211, 7 May 2002.
Cronin, M. F., and W. S. Kessler. Seasonal and interannual modulation of mixed layer variability at 0°, 110°W. Deep Sea Res.-I, 49, 1-17, 2002.
Cronin, M. F., and J. Sprintall. Wind and buoyancy-forced upper ocean. In: J. Steele, S. Thorpe, and K. Turekian (eds.) Encyclopedia of Ocean Sciences, Vol. 6, 3219-3227, Academic Press, London, UK, 2001.
Sprintall, J., and M. F. Cronin. Upper ocean vertical structure. In: J. Steele, S. Thorpe, and K. Turekian (eds.), Encyclopedia of Ocean Sciences, Vol. 6, 3120-3129, Academic Press, London, UK, 2001.
Cronin, M. F., M. J. McPhaden, and R. H. Weisberg. Wind forced reversing currents in the western equatorial Pacific. J. Phys. Oceanogr., 30, 657-676, 2000.
Cronin, M. F., and M. J. McPhaden. Diurnal cycle of rainfall and surface salinity in the western Pacific warm pool. Geophys. Res. Let., 26, 3465-3468, 1999.
Burns, S. P., D. Khelif, C. A. Friehe, A. G. Williams, P. Hignett, A. L. M. Grant, J. M. Hacker, D. P. Rogers, E. F. Bradley, R. A. Weller, M. F. Cronin, S. P. Anderson, C. W. Fairall, and C. A. Paulson. Comparison of aircraft, ship, and buoy meteorological measurements from TOGA COARE. J. Geophys. Res., 104, 30853-30883, 1999.
Cronin, M. F. and M. J. McPhaden. Upper ocean salinity balance in the western equatorial Pacific. J. Geophys. Res., 103, 27567-27587, 1998.
Cronin, M. F. and M. J. McPhaden. The upper ocean heat balance in the western equatorial Pacific warm pool during September-December 1992. J. Geophys. Res.., 102, 8533-8553, 1997.
Cronin, M.. Eddy-mean flow interaction in the Gulf Stream at 68°W: Part II. Eddy forcing on the time-mean flow. J. Phys. Oceanogr., 26, 2132-2151, 1996.
Cronin, M. and D. R. Watts. Eddy-mean flow interaction in the Gulf Stream at 68°W: Part I. Eddy energetics. J. Phys. Oceanogr., 26, 2107-2131, 1996.
Cronin, M., E. F. Carter and D.R. Watts. Prediction of the Gulf Stream path from upstream parameters. J. Geophys. Res., 97, 7257-7269. 1992.

Other Publications (chronological)

Bond, N., M. Cronin, and M. Garvert. Atmospheric sensitivity to SST near the Kuroshio Extension: A case study of the extratropical transition of Typhoon Tokage. U. S. CLIVAR Variations, 7(1), 8-11, 2009.
Cronin, M. F., M. Alexander, K. Kelly, B. Qiu, and Y. Serra. Workshop Spotlight: Western Boundary Currents. AGU Atmospheric Science Newsletter. 3(1), page 5, 2009.
Cronin, M.F., S. Legg, P. Zuidema. Best practices for process studies. Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc. Nowcast, In Press, 2009.
Kamphaus, R., M. Cronin, C. Sabine, S. Emerson, C. Meinig, and M. Robert. New surface mooring at Station Papa monitors climate. PICES Press, 16(2), 26-27, 2008.
Freitag, H. P., M. J. McPhaden, M. F. Cronin,C. L. Sabine, D. C. McClurg, and P. D. McLain. PMEL contribution to the OceanSITES program. In: Oceans 2006: Revolutionizing Marine Science and Technology, MTS/IEEE, Boston, MA, 18-21 September 2006.
Cronin, M. F., C. Meinig, and C. L. Sabine. Flux mooring for the north Pacific's western boundary current: Kuroshio Extension Observatory (KEO). In: Annual Report on The State of the Ocean and the Ocean Observing System for Climate, Annual Report, Fiscal Year 2005, J. M. Levy (ed.), NOAA/Climate Program Office/Office of Climate Observation, 159-162, 2006.
Hare, J. E., C. W. Fairall, T. Uttal, D. Hazen, M. F. Cronin, N. A. Bond, and D. E. Veron. Cloud, radiation, and surface forcing in the equatorial eastern Pacific. NOAA Tech Memo OAR-PSD 307, NOAA ESRL, Boulder, CO, pp64, 2005.
Cronin, M. F., C. Meinig, and C. L. Sabine. Flux mooring for the north Pacific's western boundary current: Kuroshio Extension Observatory (KEO). In: Annual Report on The State of the Ocean and the Ocean Observing System for Climate, Annual Report, Fiscal Year 2004, NOAA/OGP/Office of Climate Observation, Section 3.13a, 142-146, 2005.
Kessler, W. S., J. N. Moum, M. F. Cronin, P. S. Schopf, D. L. Rudnick, and L. Thompson. Pacific Upwelling and Mixing Physics: A Science and Implementation Plan NOAA/Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, 51 pp., Jan 2005.
Cronin, M. F.. Book Review: "Sea Legs: Tales of a Woman Oceanographer" by Kathleen Crane. Westview Press, 2003. ISBN 0 8133 4004 7, Hardcover, $27.50. In: Geotimes, American Geological Institute, August 2003.
Payne, R. E., K. Huang, R. A. Weller, H. P. Freitag, M. F. Cronin, M. J. McPhaden, C. Meinig, Y. Kuroda, N. Ushijima, R. M. Reynolds. A comparison of buoy meteorological systems. WHOI Technical Report WHOI-2002-10. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 67 pp., December 2002.
Cronin, M. F., N. Bond, and C. Fairall. Seasonal and year-to-year variations in the cold-tongue / ITCZ complex. U. S. CLIVAR Variations, 1(1), 7-9, 2002.
Freitag, H.P., M. E. McCarty, C. Nosse, R. Lukas, M. J. McPhaden, and M. F. Cronin. COARE SEACAT data: Calibrations and quality control procedures. NOAA Technical Memorandum ERL PMEL-115 , Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, Seattle, WA, 89 pp., March 1999.
Weller, R. A., S.P. Anderson, H. W. Wijesekera, C. A. Paulson, M. F. Cronin, and L. M. Rothstein. Oceanic response to buoyancy flux and wind stress during COARE. COARE98 - Proceedings of a conference on the TOGA Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere Response Experiment (Boulder, CO USA, 7-14 July 1998), WCRP-107, WMO/TD-No. 940, 43-58, January 1999.
Godfrey, J.S., S.P. Anderson, E.F. Bradley, J.A. Butt, P.A. Coppin, M. Cronin, I . Helmond, T.J. McDougall, L. Pender, K. Richards, W. Smyth and R. Weller. Surface fluxes and mixed layer heat and freshwater budgets in TOGA-COARE. Proceedings of the International Scientific Conference on the Tropical Ocean Global Atmosphere (TOGA) Programme, WCRP-91, WMO/TD No. 717, Vol. 1, 464-468, December 1995.
Cronin, M.. Eddy-mean flow interaction in the Gulf Stream at 68W. Ph.D. Dissertation. University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI, 1993.
Cronin, M., K. Tracey, and D.R. Watts. Mooring motion correction of SYNOP Central Array current meter data. GSO Technical Report Number 92-4, University of Rhode Island, 114 pp., 1992.
Cronin, M. Useful data-products of the mooring motion correction scheme: The pseudo-IES and the Brunt-Vaisala frequency. Synoptician, 3(4), 1992.
Cronin, M., K.L. Tracey, and D.R. Watts. The Gulf Stream dynamics experiment: IES data report for the May 1985 to June 1986 deployment period. GSO Technical Report Number 87-1. University of Rhode Island, 135 pp., May 1987.
Tracey, K.L., M. Cronin, and D.R. Watts. The Gulf Stream dynamics experiment. Inverted echo sounder data report for the June 1984 to May 1985 deployment period. GSO Technical Report Number 85-3. University of Rhode Island, 176 pp., December 1985.

Some Links

Kuroshio Extension System Study (KESS)
An overview of my TOGA COARE research for the NOAA/PMEL 1998 Lab Review.
Recent Talks
Stuff (Work in Progress)
NOAA/PMEL TAO Home Page
TOGA COARE Data Catalogue
Current activities of the NOAA Ship Ka'imimoana
Hayes Center Reading Group Home Page

Meghan F. Cronin
Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory
7600 Sand Point Way NE
Seattle, WA 98115 USA

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