Donald B. Olson

Professor, Meteorology and Physical Oceanography and
Associate Director, Marine and Atmospheric Science Undergraduate Program
Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science
University of Miami
4600 Rickenbacker Causeway
Miami, FL 33149

Tel: (305) 421-4074 or (305) 284-2180
Fax: (305) 421-4696 or 4622
Email:
Web page: http://www.rsmas.miami.edu/divs/mpo/People/Faculty/Olson/

Education
Ph.D., Oceanography, Texas A&M, 1979
M.S. Oceangography , Texas A&M, 1976
B.Sc., Physics, University of Wyoming, 1974

Research Interests
Donald Olson, trained in fluid dynamics and physical oceanography, has a long standing in observational and theoretical aspects of the marine environment including both physical aspects of circulation, marine ecology, and applications of these to fisheries science. In the Bahamas Biocomplexity Project he chairs the Connectivity Working Group and is a member of the Modeling working Group. His contribution to the connectivity work includes an analysis of the sources of the waters that surround the islands and estimates of flow through the island passages. The initial effort makes use of tracer techniques, drifters, and model simulations using the Miami Community Ocean Model (MICOM) North Atlantic runs. Later work will aim at understanding the exchange of fluid from the banks to the open ocean. On the modeling side, the initial analysis of a three component foodweb model is underway and plans include running these models on the results of the MICOM simulations. Discussions are underway to couple this model of fish stocks to an explicit model of the fisheries and their tie to the Bahamian economy.

Selected Publications
Olson, D.B. 2007. Lagrangian biophysical dynamics. In: A. Griffa, A.D. Kirwan, A.J. Mariano, T. Özgökmen, and T. Rossby (eds.), Lagrangian Analysis and Prediction in Coastal and Ocean Dynamics. Cambridge University Press: 275-348.

Glynn, P.W., G.M. Wellington, B. Riegl, D.B. Olson, E. Borneman, and E.A. Wieters. 2007. Diversity and biogeography of the scleractinian coral fauna of Easter Island (Rap Nui). Pacific Science 61(1): 67-90. [PDF]

Galindo, H.M., D.B. Olson, and S.R. Palumbi. 2006. Seascape genetics: A coupled oceanographic-genetic model predicts population structure of Caribbean corals. Current Biology 16:1622-1626. [PDF]

Olson, D., C. Cosner, S. Cantrell, and A. Hastings. 2005. Persistence of fish populations in time and space as a key to sustainable fisheries. Bulletin of Marine Science 76(2): 213-231. [PDF]

Humston, R., D.B. Olson, and J.S. Ault. 2004. Behavioral assumptions in models of fish movement and their influence on population dynamics. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 133: 1304-1328. [PDF]

Olson, D.B. 2002. Biophysical Dynamics of Ocean Fronts. The Sea 12: 187-218.

Lima, I.D., D.B. Olson, and S.C. Doney. 2002. Intrinsic dynamics and stability properties of size-structured pelagic ecosystem models. Journal of Plankton Research 24; 533-556.

Lima, I. D., D.B. Olson, and S.C. Doney. 2002. Biological Response to frontal dynamics and mesoscale variability in oligotrophic environments: A numerical modeling study. Journal of Geophysical Research 107 10.1029/2000JC000393: 1-21.

Paris, C.B., R.K. Cowen. K.M.M. Lwiza, D.P. Wang, and D.B. Olson. 2002. Objective analysis of three-dimensional circulation in the vicinity of Barbados, West Indies: Implication for larval transport. Deep-Sea Research 49: 1363-1387.

Olson, D.B. 2001. Biophysical Dynamics of Western Transition Zones. Fisheries Oceanography 10: 133-150.