Air–sea interaction
Using buoy observations and environmental fields to examine how winds force waves and the upper ocean.
Physical oceanography · Honolulu, Hawaiʻi
Wyn
Pauly
I study how the atmosphere and ocean exchange energy—especially how tropical cyclones organize wind, waves, and the upper ocean across space and time.
A forcing history is a path, not a point. Wind, wave, and ocean states retain the record of where they have been.
Current focus
From observation to mechanism.
I am a Physical Oceanography PhD student at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. After completing dual degrees in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences and Urban Planning in May 2024, I continue to connect large-scale ocean dynamics and climate variability with the practical work of climate adaptation.
Tropical cyclones
Studying spatial structure, translation, and forcing history inside rapidly evolving storm environments.
Climate + planning
Bringing physical science into conversation with adaptation, environmental planning, and public decisions.
Across scales
One system, many ways of seeing.
My work moves between basin-scale circulation and place-scale design—using analysis, visualization, and planning to make environmental change legible.
Selected work
Research, tools, and applied projects.
The archive spans physical oceanography, climate predictability, scientific visualization, urban design, and environmental policy.
US East Coast sea level and North Atlantic circulation
An honors thesis quantifying how basin-scale dynamics relate to interannual tide-gauge variability.
Read the projectArcTrack
Live and forecast virtual-buoy trajectories alongside North Pacific ocean, wave, and atmospheric fields.
Open ArcTrackPrivate workspace
Working research lives here.
Methods, literature notes, figure development, and project documentation are maintained in a protected research notebook. Authorized collaborators can continue through Cloudflare Access.
Research Notes
Living documentation for tropical-cyclone waves, forcing histories, analysis methods, and active writing.