Yidongfang Si 司懿东方
y_si@mit.edu | Curriculum Vitae
Welcome! I'm a Postdoctoral Fellow at MIT, working with Prof. Raffaele Ferrari. I study bottom boundary layer turbulence using theoretical approaches and numerical models. My research interests lie broadly in geophysical fluid dynamics, turbulence, ice-ocean interactions, eddies, and tides on Earth and other ocean worlds.
Before joining MIT, I earned my PhD under the guidance of Prof. Andrew Stewart at UCLA. My research there focused on the dynamics of ocean circulation around the Antarctic margins, using a combination of theories, numerical simulations, and in-situ measurements.
Employment:
Jun 2023 – Jun 2025, Houghton Postdoctoral Fellow, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Education:
Sep 2018 – Jun 2023, Ph.D. in Physical Oceanography, University of California, Los Angeles
Sep 2014 – Jul 2018, B.S. in Astronomy, School of Physics, Peking University
Publications:
In prep
Y. Si and R. Ferrari. Tidally-Induced Turbulence over Sloping Topography. (In prep)
Submitted
S. Spungin*, Y. Si, A. L. Stewart, and C. J. Prend. Observed Seasonality of Mixed-Layer Eddies and Vertical Heat Transport over the Antarctic Continental Shelf. (Submitted to the Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans) *Mentee
X. Ruan, Y. Si, and R. Ferrari. Diapycnal upwelling driven by tidally-induced mixing over steep topography. (Submitted to the Journal of Physical Oceanography)
2024
Y. Si, A. L. Stewart, A. Silvano, and A. C. Naveira Garabato (2024). Antarctic slope undercurrent and onshore heat transport driven by ice shelf melting. Science Advances [news] [code]
2023
C. R. Schmidgall*, Y. Si, A. L. Stewart, A. F. Thompson, and A. McC. Hogg (2023). Dynamical controls on bottom water transport and transformation across the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. Journal of Physical Oceanography [pdf] *Mentee
Y. Si, A. L. Stewart, and I. Eisenman (2023). Heat transport across the Antarctic Slope Front controlled by cross-slope salinity gradients. Science Advances [code]
2022
A. Silvano, P. Holland, K. Naughten, O. Dragomir, P. Dutrieux, A. Jenkins, Y. Si, A. L. Stewart, B. Pena-Molino, G. Janzing, T. Dotto, and A. C. Naveira Garabato (2022). Baroclinic ocean response to climate forcing regulates decadal variability of ice-shelf melting in the Amundsen Sea. Geophysical Research Letters
Y. Si, A. L. Stewart, and I. Eisenman (2022). Coupled ocean/sea ice dynamics of the Antarctic Slope Current driven by topographic eddy suppression and sea ice momentum redistribution. Journal of Physical Oceanography [pdf] [code]
Y. Si, J. Yang, and Y. Liu (2022). Planetary climate under extremely high vertical diffusivity. Astronomy & Astrophysics [pdf] [code]
Dissertation
Y. Si (2023). Ice-Ocean Interactions in the Antarctic Slope Current. PhD Dissertation [pdf]