Si-Yuan (Sean) Chen is currently a PhD candidate at Massachusetts Institute of Technology – Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (MIT-WHOI) Joint Program in Oceanography. 

The ocean plays a key role in our climate and weather systems, and it also provides a wide range of natural resources that our livelihoods depend heavily upon yet do not often realise. My research aims to understand how the ocean can tell stories about the Earth’s present, past, and future, as well as to inform us on how we can better assess risks and conserve the marine environment under changing climate.

Focusing on the intersection between physical oceanography and biogeochemistry, my current research explores the deep blue ocean, particularly the dynamical processes that are ongoing yet little known to us in the ocean abyss. Such processes, both physical and biogeochemical, concern the understanding of the deep ocean’s roles in Earth’s energy budget, climate system, biodiversity, and so forth.

Closer to shore, I am interested in coastal processes and how natural variability and changing climate patterns affect the coastal environment and ecosystems. As climate and extreme weather pattens respond to anthropogenic warming, I plan to shift my research focus onto understanding processes that can help coastal communities build climate resilience, leveraging physical risks for opportunities.