I am a physical oceanographer with skills in fluid mechanics including scaling, analytics, laboratory and numerical modeling. My areas of application include coastal oceanography, mesoscale meteorology and biogeochemical-physical interactions in the ocean.
My largest scholarly contributions have been to 1) understanding flow over and around topography and particularly canyons, and the resulting impacts on cross-shelf exchange. I have also made significant contributions to 2) biological-physical interactions and in particular the impact of surface processes on the timing of the phytoplankton spring bloom and 3) in collaboration with D. Steyn, I have contributed to the study of atmosphere buoyancy driven flows in the mountains. 4) Lastly, I work in an interdisciplinary oceanography group within the Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences. As a community member I have contributed in a number of fields, usually applying my modeling or analytic skills. If one can create a simple model of a phenomena so much of our intuition and understanding can be illustrated and quantified.
My newest project (since Fall 2013) has been a short-term forecast model for the Salish Sea as part of the Marine Environment Observation, Predication and Response Network of Centres of Excellence.
1) Flow over Topography in the Ocean, particularly Canyon Flows
Long Term Goal: To be able to understand the rotationally dominated flow over topography and quantitatively estimate the cross-bathymetric gradient flows and the scalar fluxes they generate.
2) Biological-physical Interactions and Modeling
Long Term Goal: Produce local models of the lower trophic-level ecology and carbon/oxygen/nitrogen cycles based on both simplified and realistic physical models of local coastal regions. Use these models to investigate the relevant processes that determine primary productivity, carbon fluxes and acidity.
3) Buoyancy Driven Flows in the Atmosphere
General Goal: Defining and quantifying buoyancy driven flows through and on our local mountains.
B.Sc. Queen's University (Honours, Physics) (1984)
Ph.D. Cambridge University (1989)
NSERC Industrial Post-doctoral Fellow at Seakem Oceanography Ltd.(1989-1990)
UBC (1990-present)
Sabbaticals : Institute of Ocean Science (1999-2000), IFREMER, Brest, France (2006), IOS (2007), Berkeley (2013, 2014), Technical University of Delft (2014)
Research Staff
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Research Software Engineer
PDFs and RAs
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Research Associate
Graduate Students
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PhD Oceanography
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PhD Oceanography
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PhD Oceanography
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PhD Oceanography
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PhD Oceanography
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PhD Oceanography
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MSc Oceanography
2016
Soontiens N, Allen S.E, Latornell D, Le Souef K, Machuca I, Paquin J-P, Lu Y, Thompson K, Korabel V. 2016. Storm Surges in the Strait of Georgia Simulated with a Regional Model. ATMOSPHERE-OCEAN. 54:1-21.
2015
A Wolfe M, Allen S.E, Hodal M, Pawlowicz R, Hunt BPV, Tommasi D. 2015. Impact of advection loss due to wind and estuarine circulation on the timing of the spring phytoplankton bloom in a fjord. ICES Journal of Marine Science: Journal du Conseil. :fsv151.
2014
Tommasi D, Hunt BPV, Allen S.E, Routledge R, Pakhomov EA. 2014. Variability in the vertical distribution and advective transport of eight mesozooplankton taxa in spring in Rivers Inlet, British Columbia, Canada. JOURNAL OF PLANKTON RESEARCH. 36:743-756.
Snauffer EL, Masson D, Allen S.E. 2014. Modelling the dispersal of herring and hake larvae in the Strait of Georgia for the period 2007-2009. FISHERIES OCEANOGRAPHY. 23:375-388.
Le Souef K.E, Allen S.E. 2014. Physical modeling of tidal resonance in a submarine canyon. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-OCEANS. 119:1324-1343.
Spurgin J.M, Allen S.E. 2014. Flow dynamics around downwelling submarine canyons. OCEAN SCIENCE. 10:799-819.
2013
Howatt T.M, Allen S.E. 2013. Impact of the continental shelf slope on upwelling through submarine canyons. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-OCEANS. 118:5814-5828.
Allen S.E, Lewis A.G. 2013. LEPEOPHTHEIRUS SALMONIS (KROYER, 1837): SECOND NAUPLIUS AND COPEPODID LOCOMOTOR APPENDAGES, SURFACE AREAS AND POSSIBLE APPENDAGE FUNCTIONS. CRUSTACEANA. 86:1695-1710.
Allen S.E, Wolfe M.A. 2013. Hindcast of the timing of the spring phytoplankton bloom in the Strait of Georgia, 1968-2010. PROGRESS IN OCEANOGRAPHY. 115:6-13.
2012
Lippold J, Luo Y, Francois R, Allen S.E, Gherardi J, Pichat S, Hickey B, Schulz H. 2012. Strength and geometry of the glacial Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. NATURE GEOSCIENCE. 5:813-816.
2011
Swart N.C, Allen S.E, Greenan B.JW. 2011. Resonant amplification of subinertial tides in a submarine canyon. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-OCEANS. 116
Jackson J.M, Allen S.E, McLaughlin F.A, Woodgate R.A, Carmack E.C. 2011. Changes to the near-surface waters in the Canada Basin, Arctic Ocean from 1993-2009: A basin in transition. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-OCEANS. 116
Ianson D, Allen S.E, Mackas DL, Trevorrow MV, Benfield MC. 2011. Response of Euphausia pacifica to small-scale shear in turbulent flow over a sill in a fjord. JOURNAL OF PLANKTON RESEARCH. 33:1679-1695.
2010
Jackson J.M, Carmack E.C, McLaughlin F.A, Allen S.E, Ingram R.G. 2010. Identification, characterization, and change of the near-surface temperature maximum in the Canada Basin, 1993-2008. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-OCEANS. 115
Gherardi J.-M, Luo Y., Francois R., McManus J.F, Allen S.E, Labeyrie L.. 2010. Reply to comment by S. Peacock on ``Glacial-interglacial circulation changes inferred from Pa-231/Th-230 sedimentary record in the North Atlantic region''. PALEOCEANOGRAPHY. 25
Dawe JT, Allen S.E. 2010. Solution convergence of flow over steep topography in a numerical model of canyon upwelling. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-OCEANS. 115
Allen S.E, Hickey B.M. 2010. Dynamics of advection-driven upwelling over a shelf break submarine canyon. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-OCEANS. 115
Jackson J.M, Allen S.E, Carmack E.C, McLaughlin F.A. 2010. Suspended particles in the Canada Basin from optical and bottle data, 2003-2008. OCEAN SCIENCE. 6:799-813.
Luo Y., Francois R., Allen S.E. 2010. Sediment Pa-231/Th-230 as a recorder of the rate of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation: insights from a 2-D model. OCEAN SCIENCE. 6:381-400.
Lewis A.G, Johnson C, Allen S.E. 2010. CALANOID COPEPOD THORACIC LEGS-SURFACE AREA VS. BODY SIZE AND POTENTIAL SWIMMING ABILITY, A COMPARISON OF EIGHT SPECIES. CRUSTACEANA. 83:695-713.
2009
A. Collins K, Allen S.E, Pawlowicz R. 2009. The role of wind in determining the timing of the spring bloom in the Strait of Georgia. CANADIAN JOURNAL OF FISHERIES AND AQUATIC SCIENCES. 66:1597-1616.
Waterhouse AF, Allen S.E, Bowie AW. 2009. Upwelling flow dynamics in long canyons at low Rossby number. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-OCEANS. 114
Allen S.E, X. de Madron D. 2009. A review of the role of submarine canyons in deep-ocean exchange with the shelf. OCEAN SCIENCE. 5:607-620.
2008
Luo Y., Francois R., Allen S.E. 2008. Sediment Pa-231/Th-230 as a recorder of the rate of the Atlantic meridional overturning: Insights from a simple 2-D model. GEOCHIMICA ET COSMOCHIMICA ACTA. 72:A575.
2007
Francois R, Frank M, van der Loeff MRutgers, Bacon MP, Geibert W, Kienast S, Anderson RF, Bradtmiller L, Chase Z, Henderson G et al.. 2007. Comment on ``Do geochemical estimates of sediment focusing pass the sediment test in the equatorial Pacific?'' by M. Lyle et al. PALEOCEANOGRAPHY. 22
Reuten C., Steyn D.G, Allen S.E. 2007. Water tank studies of atmospheric boundary layer structure and air pollution transport in upslope flow systems. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-ATMOSPHERES. 112
2006
Amundrud TL, Melling H, Ingram RG, Allen S.E. 2006. The effect of structural porosity on the ablation of sea ice ridges. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-OCEANS. 111
Lewis A.G, Allen S.E, Martens G. 2006. Rapid swimming and the median intersomitic ridge in calanoid copepods. CRUSTACEANA. 79:501-511.
2005
Mirshak R, Allen S.E. 2005. Spin-up and the effects of a submarine canyon: Applications to upwelling in Astoria Canyon. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-OCEANS. 110
2004
Allen S.E. 2004. Restrictions on deep flow across the shelf-break and the role of submarine canyons in facilitating such flow. SURVEYS IN GEOPHYSICS. 25:221-247.
2003
Hickey BM, Dobbins EL, Allen S.E. 2003. Local and remote forcing of currents and temperature in the central Southern California Bight. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-OCEANS. 108
Allen S.E, Dinniman MS, Klinck JM, Gorby DD, Hewett AJ, Hickey BM. 2003. On vertical advection truncation errors in terrain-following numerical models: Comparison to a laboratory model for upwelling over submarine canyons. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-OCEANS. 108
Ianson D, Allen S.E, Harris SL, Orians KJ, Varela DE, Wong CS. 2003. The inorganic carbon system in the coastal upwelling region west of Vancouver Island, Canada. DEEP-SEA RESEARCH PART I-OCEANOGRAPHIC RESEARCH PAPERS. 50:1023-1042.
2002
Ianson D, Allen S.E. 2002. A two-dimensional nitrogen and carbon flux model in a coastal upwelling region. GLOBAL BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES. 16
Benson AJ, McFarlane GA, Allen S.E, Dower JF. 2002. Changes in Pacific hake (Merluccius productus) migration patterns and juvenile growth related to the 1989 regime shift. CANADIAN JOURNAL OF FISHERIES AND AQUATIC SCIENCES. 59:1969-1979.
Carrasco AC, Allen S.E, LeBlond PH. 2002. Semi-diurnal internal wave diffraction caused by Dixon Entrance, British Columbia. ATMOSPHERE-OCEAN. 40:405-422.
2001
Allen S.E, Vindeirinho C, Thomson RE, Foreman MGG, Mackas DL. 2001. Physical and biological processes over a submarine canyon during an upwelling event. CANADIAN JOURNAL OF FISHERIES AND AQUATIC SCIENCES. 58:671-684.
2000
Thomson RE, Allen S.E. 2000. Time series acoustic observations of macrozooplankton diel migration and associated pelagic fish abundance. CANADIAN JOURNAL OF FISHERIES AND AQUATIC SCIENCES. 57:1919-1931.
Keen TR, Allen S.E. 2000. The generation of internal waves on the continental shelf by Hurricane Andrew. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-OCEANS. 105:26203-26224.
Allen S.E. 2000. On subinertial flow in submarine canyons: Effect of geometry. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-OCEANS. 105:1285-1297.
1998
Finnigan TD, Allen S.E, Lawrence GA. 1998. Physical modeling of an outflow event in Howe Sound, British Columbia. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-ATMOSPHERES. 103:3937-3950.
1997
Allen S.E, Hsieh WW. 1997. How does the El Nino-generated coastal current propagate past the Mendocino escarpment? JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-OCEANS. 102:24977-24985.
Allen S.E, Stockie JM, Austin PH. 1997. An interactive course in numerical methods for the earth sciences. BULLETIN OF THE AMERICAN METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY. 78:1503-1509.
Finnigan TD, Allen S.E, Lawrence GA, Steyn DG, Jackson PL, Zhu DZ. 1997. A physical model of outflow winds in Howe Sound, British Columbia. 12TH SYMPOSIUM ON BOUNDARY LAYERS AND TURBULENCE. :506-507.
1996
Shore JA, Allen S.E. 1996. Weakly nonlinear oscillatory flow over an isolated seamount. ATMOSPHERE-OCEAN. 34:515-547.
Chen XY, Allen S.E. 1996. The influence of canyons on shelf currents: A theoretical study. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-OCEANS. 101:18043-18059.
Allen S.E. 1996. Rossby adjustment over a slope in a homogeneous fluid. JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY. 26:1646-1654.
Allen S.E. 1996. Topographically generated, subinertial flows within a finite length canyon. JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY. 26:1608-1632.
1994
Finnigan TD, VINE JA, Jackson PL, Allen S.E, Lawrence GA, Steyn DG. 1994. HYDRAULIC PHYSICAL MODELING AND OBSERVATIONS OF A SEVERE GAP WIND. MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW. 122:2677-2687.
Finnigan TD, Allen S.E, Lawrence GA. 1994. Hydraulic analysis of outflow winds in Howe Sound, British Columbia. SIXTH CONFERENCE ON MESOSCALE PROCESSES. :463-466.
1993
Allen S.E, Thomson RE. 1993. BOTTOM-TRAPPED SUBINERTIAL MOTIONS OVER MIDOCEAN RIDGES IN A STRATIFIED ROTATING FLUID. JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY. 23:566-581.