Nathan Laxague

Nathan Laxague

Assistant Professor
Phone: (603) 862-4023
Office: Mechanical Engineering, Kingsbury Hall, Durham, NH 03824

Prof. Laxague received his Ph.D. in 2016 from the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science at the University of Miami and his B.S. in 2011 from the University of Miami. Prior to joining UNH, he was a postdoctoral research scientist at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.

Prof. Laxague makes field and laboratory measurements to explore the fundamental physical interactions between the Earth’s atmosphere and oceans. He is particularly interested in ocean surface waves and their mediation of air-sea fluxes, looking to leverage the best-available engineering solutions in order to improve in-situ observational techniques.

Courses Taught

  • ME 603: Heat Transfer
  • ME 795/895: SpcTop/Experimentl Fluid Dynam
  • ME 999: Doctoral Research
  • OE 400: Ocean Engineering Seminar
  • OE 401: Ocean Engineering Seminar
  • OE 754/854: Ocean Waves and Tides
  • OE 999: Doctoral Research

Education

  • Ph.D., University of Miami
  • B.S., University of Miami

Research Interests

  • Coastal & Ocean Engineering
  • Fluid Mechanics
  • Physical Oceanography
  • Surface Waves

Selected Publications

  • Mahoney, A. R., Turner, K. E., Hauser, D. D. W., Laxague, N. J. M., Lindsay, J. M., Whiting, A. V., . . . Zappa, C. J. (2021). Thin ice, deep snow and surface flooding in Kotzebue Sound: landfast ice mass balance during two anomalously warm winters and implications for marine mammals and subsistence hunting. JOURNAL OF GLACIOLOGY, 67(266), 1013-1027. doi:10.1017/jog.2021.49

  • Witte, C. R., Zappa, C. J., Mahoney, A. R., Goodwin, J., Harris, C., Schaeffer, R. J., . . . Whiting, A. (2021). The Winter Heat Budget of Sea Ice in Kotzebue Sound: Residual Ocean Heat and the Seasonal Roles of River Outflow. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 126(9). doi:10.1029/2020jc016784

  • Hauser, D. D. W., Whiting, A. V., Mahoney, A. R., Goodwin, J., Harris, C., Schaeffer, R. J., . . . Zappa, C. J. (2021). Co-production of knowledge reveals loss of Indigenous hunting opportunities in the face of accelerating Arctic climate change. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS, 16(9). doi:10.1088/1748-9326/ac1a36

  • Laxague, N. J. M., & Zappa, C. J. (2020). The Impact of Rain on Ocean Surface Waves and Currents. GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, 47(7). doi:10.1029/2020GL087287

  • Laxague, N. J. M., & Zappa, C. J. (2020). Observations of mean and wave orbital flows in the ocean's upper centimetres. JOURNAL OF FLUID MECHANICS, 887. doi:10.1017/jfm.2019.1019

  • D'Asaro, E. A., Shcherbina, A. Y., Klymak, J. M., Molemaker, J., Novelli, G., Guigand, C. M., . . . Ozgokmen, T. M. (2018). Ocean convergence and the dispersion of flotsam. PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 115(6), 1162-1167. doi:10.1073/pnas.1718453115

  • Laxague, N. J. M., Ozgokmen, T. M., Haus, B. K., Novelli, G., Shcherbina, A., Sutherland, P., . . . Molemaker, J. (2018). Observations of Near-Surface Current Shear Help Describe Oceanic Oil and Plastic Transport. GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, 45(1), 245-249. doi:10.1002/2017GL075891

  • Novelli, G., Guigand, C. M., Cousin, C., Ryan, E. H., Laxague, N. J. M., Dai, H., . . . Ozgokmen, T. M. (2017). A Biodegradable Surface Drifter for Ocean Sampling on a Massive Scale. JOURNAL OF ATMOSPHERIC AND OCEANIC TECHNOLOGY, 34(11), 2509-2532. doi:10.1175/JTECH-D-17-0055.1

  • Jacobs, G. A., Bartels, B. P., Bogucki, D. J., Beron-Vera, F. J., Chen, S. S., Coelho, E. F., . . . Wei, M. (2014). Data assimilation considerations for improved ocean predictability during the Gulf of Mexico Grand Lagrangian Deployment (GLAD). OCEAN MODELLING, 83, 98-117. doi:10.1016/j.ocemod.2014.09.003

  • Johnson, N., Carran, S., Botner, J., Fontaine, K., Laxague, N., Nuetzel, P., . . . Tivnan, B. (2011). Pattern in Escalations in Insurgent and Terrorist Activity. SCIENCE, 333(6038), 81-84. doi:10.1126/science.1205068

  • Most Cited Publications