薄童 Tong Bo

薄童 Tong Bo

Postdoctoral Scholar

University of California, Los Angeles

About me

I am currently a Postdoctoral Scholar in the Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Department at UCLA, working with Profs. Marcelo Chamecki and Jim McWilliams.

Email: tbo@atmos.ucla.edu.

I study coastal and estuarine fluid dynamics using a combination of computational and observational methods. My research focuses on flow processes associated with complex roughness elements in the coastal ocean, including topographic and bathymetric features and vegetation. I aim to understand the impacts of these processes on oceanic boundary layer turbulence, salinity and temperature dynamics, and material transport, as well as their implications for the development of sustainable solutions.

Interests
  • Coastal and Estuarine Dynamics
  • Environmental Fluid Mechanics
  • Physical Oceanography
Education

  • Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental and Oceanographic Engineering, 2023

    MIT – WHOI Joint Program

  • B.S. in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, 2018

    Peking University

Projects

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All Flow-vegetation interaction Topography-induced drag increase Estuarine salinity dynamics
Macroalgal Farming for Carbon Sequestration - Turbulence and Scalar Transport
We conducted large eddy simulations of suspended macroalgal farms and investigated their interactions with ocean mixed layer hydridnamics. The presense of farms generates distinct types of turbulence, which has substantial consequences for nutrient supply and macroalgal growth.
Macroalgal Farming for Carbon Sequestration - Turbulence and Scalar Transport
Estuarine Salinity Dynamics - Frontogenesis, Mixing, and Stratification
Small-scale topographic features, like constriction, headlands, and meanders, are important locations for etuarine frontogenesis. These topography-generated fronts in estuaries, sharing similarities with oceanic submesoscale fronts, are usually hotspots of salinity mixing and straining. Moreover, they have the potential to dominate estuarine exchange processes, salt intrusion, and estuarine stratification.
Estuarine Salinity Dynamics - Frontogenesis, Mixing, and Stratification
Meanders and Increased Flow Resistance - Impacts on Flooding in Coastal and Estuarine Systems
The existence of complex topographic features in the coastal ocean system, such as channel meanders, can lead to significantly increased flow resistance compared to straight channels. The increased drag has clear implications for tidal propagation and coastal flooding potential. Meander restoration can therefore serve as a nature-based solution for flooding mitigation, in the context of climate change, sea level rise, and more frequent coastal storm events.
Meanders and Increased Flow Resistance - Impacts on Flooding in Coastal and Estuarine Systems

Recent Publications

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Tong Bo, David K Ralston, W Rockwell Geyer, James C McWilliams (2024). On the role of small estuaries in retaining buoyant particles. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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Tong Bo, James C McWilliams, Christina A Frieder, Kristen A Davis, Marcelo Chamecki (2024). Nutrient Replenishment by Turbulent Mixing in Suspended Macroalgal Farms. Geophysical Research Letters.

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Tong Bo, James C McWilliams, Chao Yan, Marcelo Chamecki (2024). Langmuir turbulence in suspended kelp farms. Journal of Fluid Mechanics.

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Tong Bo, David K Ralston, Adrian Mikhail P Garcia, W Rockwell Geyer (2024). Tidal intrusion fronts, surface convergence, and mixing in an estuary with complex topography. Journal of Physical Oceanography.

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Tong Bo, David K Ralston, W Rockwell Geyer (2023). Sources of drag in estuarine meanders: momentum redistribution, bottom stress enhancement, and bend-scale form drag. Journal of Physical Oceanography.

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