Life Journey of Scientist Sarah N. Giddings
In the heart of California, at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), lies the research of coastal physical oceanographer, Sarah Giddings. With a background in environmental engineering, specializing in fluid mechanics, Giddings has found a unique niche at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, a hub for interdisciplinary collaboration between biologists, chemists, and scientists from various fields.
Giddings' research primarily focuses on pollution transport and hydrodynamics in coastal environments. Her work, often centred on the West Coast of the United States, delves into the San Diego-Tijuana border region and the Pacific Northwest, with an emphasis on understanding how sewage contamination moves along the coast.
One of her key interests lies in the dynamics of estuaries, those places where rivers meet the ocean or bays without river input that have strong density gradients. Estuaries are of significant importance due to their role as valuable resources, frequent exploitation by humans, and their position as the intersection of land and ocean processes.
Giddings' research methodology combines field work and numerical modeling. She uses boat-based observations, walking around the estuary to measure topography and bathymetry, and innovative techniques like using dye to track pollution or sediment movement. The data collected is then used to validate her models, ensuring they accurately represent the estuarine systems she studies.
Currently, Giddings' research is centred on the El Niño season, viewing it as a potential preview of future climate conditions. Her work involves understanding the circulation of estuaries, including the mixing of saltwater with freshwater, contaminated runoff with less contaminated ocean water, and the movement of nutrients and oxygen.
In addition to her work in California, Giddings' research extends up and down the West Coast of the U.S., with collaborations stretching from the northernmost reaches of Washington to the southern tip of California. Her models even reach along the entire West Coast, providing a comprehensive view of estuary dynamics across the region.
Giddings joined UCSD in 2014, having previously worked at the University of Washington. Her research aims to provide science-based tools to inform public health and beach management decisions, with a goal of improving beach water quality forecasting and understanding the impact of humans on coastal ecosystems.
- The fusion of science, health-and-wellness, and environmental-science is pivotal in Sarah Giddings' research, as she aims to provide science-based tools to inform public health and beach management decisions.
- Giddings' research, extending from the northernmost reaches of Washington to the southern tip of California, also encompasses the intersection of technology, data-and-cloud-computing, and fitness-and-exercise, as she employs innovative techniques like using dye to track pollution or sediment movement.
- In the era of climate change and the ongoing impact on our environment, Giddings' focus on the El Niño season offers a unique insight, viewing it as a potential preview of future climate conditions, thereby contributing to the science of climate change.
