International Pacific Research Center | People

Nikolai Maximenko

Senior Researcher
Affiliate Researcher, Oceanography

International Pacific Research Center
School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology
University of Hawaii
Honolulu, Hawaii 96822

Phone: (808) 956-2584
Fax: (808) 956-9425
Email:

Education

1987 - Ph.D. (Physical Oceanography), P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow.
Thesis title: "Water transport and mixing by mesoscale eddies."
1983 - M.Sc. (Aerodynamics and Thermodynamics), Moscow Institute for Physics and Technology

Research Interests

Mesoscale and large-scale ocean currents
Ekman dynamics and air-sea interaction
Alternating zonal jets and multiple mechanisms of their formation
Processes at oceanic fronts
Advection of passive and bio-chemical tracers

Scientific Work Experience

Senior Researcher: International Pacific Research Center, 2009 – present
Associate Researcher: International Pacific Research Center, 1999 – 2009
Senior Research Scientist: Oceanic Currents Laboratory, Large-scale Air-Sea Interaction Division, P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 1991 – present
Scientific Secretary of Russian National IAPSO Committee, 1998 – present
Research Scientist: Hydrophysical Fields Variability Laboratory, Large-scale Air-Sea Interaction Division, P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 1988 – 1991
Junior Research Scientist: Hydrophysical Fields Variability Laboratory, Large-scale Air-Sea Interaction Division, P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Moscow, 1987 – 1988
Engineering Staff (temporary position): Synoptic Processes Laboratory, P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Moscow, 1985
Laboratory Assistant (temporary position): Synoptic Processes Laboratory, P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Moscow, 1982 – 1983

Recent Professional Visits

1999: Visiting Scientist: International Pacific Research Center, SOEST, University of Hawaii, USA
1998: Visiting Scientist: Frontier Research System for Global Change, Tokyo, Japan
1998: Visiting Scientist: Japan Marine Science Foundation, Tokyo, Japan
1998: Visiting Scientist: Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California, USA
1997: Visiting Scientist: Japan Marine Science Foundation, Tokyo, Japan
1995: Visiting Scientist: Department of Earth and Planetary Physics, University of Tokyo, Japan
1993 – 1994: Postdoc Fellow: Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Department of Earth and Planetary Physics, University of Tokyo, Japan
1991: Visiting Scientist: Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California, USA

Sea Expeditions

Eastern Black Sea (09/1990 – 10/1990), Head of Expedition, R/V "Rift"
Atlantic Ocean (03/1990 – 07/1990), Member of Data Processing Team, 51th cruise of the R/V "Akademik Kurchatov"
North Western Pacific (07/1987 – 12/1987), Member of Data Processing Team, 47th cruise of the R/V "Akademik Kurchatov"
Tropical North Atlantic (03/1985 – 07/1985), Member of Data Processing Team, 41th cruise of the R/V "Akademik Kurchatov"
Southern Ocean, south of Africa (11/1982 – 03/1983), Member of Data Processing Team, 5th cruise of the R/V "Akademik Keldysh"

Recent Research Grants and Projects

RUSSIAN FOUNDATION FOR BASIC RESEARCH, RUSSIA, "North Pacific intermediate water formation" (Principal Investigator). 1995 – 1997
INTERNATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION, NEW YORK, USA, "Convection in the North Pacific Subarctic Front" (Principal Investigator). 1992 – 1995
MINISTRY OF SCIENCE, RUSSIA, "Oceanic currents study with surface drifters" (Principal Investigator). 1990 – 1995

Major Publications

Centurioni, L., ..., N.A. Maximenko, et al., 2019: Global in situ Observations of Essential Climate and Ocean Variables at the Air–Sea Interface. Frontiers in Marine Science, 6, 419, doi:10.3389/fmars.2019.00419. IPRC-1400.
Gommenginger, C., ..., N.A. Maximenko, et al., 2019: A Mission to Study Ocean Submesoscale Dynamics and Small-Scale Atmosphere-Ocean Processes in Coastal, Shelf and Polar Seas. Frontiers in Marine Science, 6, 457, doi:10.3389/fmars.2019.00457. IPRC-1401.
Maximenko, N.A., et al., 2019: Towards the Integrated Marine Debris Observing System Frontiers in Marine Science, 6, 447, doi:10.3389/fmars.2019.00447. IPRC-1351.
Maximenko, N.A., J. Hafner, M. Kamachi, and A. MacFadyen, 2018: Numerical simulations of debris drift from the Great Japan Tsunami of 2011 and their verification with observational reports. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 132, 5‐25, doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.03.056. IPRC-1319.
Murray, C.C., N.A. Maximenko, and S. Lippiatt, 2018: The influx of marine debris from the 2011 Great Japan Tsunami to North American shorelines. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 132, 26-32, doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.01.004. IPRC-1292.
Amores, A., O.V. Melnichenko, and N.A. Maximenko, 2017: Coherent mesoscale eddies in the North Atlantic subtropical gyre: 3D structure and transport with application to the salinity maximum. J. Geophys. Res.-Oceans, 122 (1), 23-41, doi:10.1002/2016JC012256. IPRC-1231.
Amores, A., S. Monserrat, O.V. Melnichenko, N.A. Maximenko, 2017: On the shape of sea level anomaly signal on periphery of mesoscale ocean eddies. Geophys. Res. Lett., 44 (13), 6926-6932, doi:10.1002/2017GL073978. IPRC-1262.
Belmadani, A., E. Concha, D. Donoso, A. Chaigneau, F. Colas, N.A. Maximenko, and E. Di Lorenzo, 2017: Striations and preferred eddy tracks triggered by topographic steering of the background flow in the eastern South Pacific. J. Geophys. Res.-Oceans, 122 (4), 2847-2870, doi:10.1002/2016JC012348. IPRC-1243.
Hardesty, B.D., J. Harari, A. Isobe, L. Lebreton, N.A. Maximenko, J.T. Potemra, E. van Sebille, A.D. Vethaak, and C. Wilcox, 2017: Using Numerical Model Simulations to Improve the Understanding of Micro-plastic Distribution and Pathways in the Marine Environment. Front. Mar. Sci., 4 (30), doi:10.3389/fmars.2017.00030. IPRC-1246.
Melnichenko, O.V., A. Amores, N.A. Maximenko, P. Hacker, and J.T. Potemra, 2017: Signature of mesoscale eddies in satellite sea surface salinity data. J. Geophys. Res.-Oceans, 122 (2), 1416-1424, doi:10.1002/2016JC012420. IPRC-1236.
Melnichenko, O.V., P. Hacker, N.A. Maximenko, G. Lagerloef, and J.T. Potemra, 2016: Optimum interpolation analysis of Aquarius sea surface salinity. J. Geophys. Res.-Oceans, 121 (1), 602-616, doi:10.1002/2015JC011343. IPRC-1164.
Potemra, J.T., P. Hacker, O.V. Melnichenko, and N.A. Maximenko, 2016: Satellite estimate of freshwater exchange between the Indonesian Seas and the Indian Ocean via the Sunda Strait. J. Geophys. Res.-Oceans, 121 (7), 5098-5111, doi:10.1002/2015JC011618. IPRC-1193.
Trinanes, J.A., M.J. Olascoaga, G.J. Goni, N.A. Maximenko, D.A. Griffin, and J. Hafner, 2016: Analysis of potential MH370 debris trajectories using ocean observations and numerical model results. Journal of Operational Oceanography, 9 (2), 126-138, doi:10.1080/1755876X.2016.1248149. IPRC-1217.
Duhec, A.V., R.F. Jeanne, N.A. Maximenko, and J. Hafner, 2015: Composition and potential origin of marine debris stranded in the Western Indian Ocean on remote Alphonse Island, Seychelles. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 96 (1-2), 76-86, doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2015.05.042. IPRC-1120.
van Sebille, E., C. Wilcox, L. Lebreton, N.A. Maximenko, B.D. Hardesty, J.A. van Franeker, M. Eriksen, D. Siegel, F. Galgani, and K.L. Law, 2015: A Global Inventory of Small Floating Plastic Debris. Environmental Research Letters, 10 (12), 124006, doi:10.1088/1748-9326/10/12/124006. IPRC-1160.
Davis, A., E. Di Lorenzo, H. Luo, A. Belmadani, N.A. Maximenko, O.V. Melnichenko, and N. Schneider, 2014: Mechanisms for the emergence of ocean striations in the North Pacific. Geophys. Res. Lett., 41 (3), 948-953, doi:10.1002/2013GL057956. IPRC-1044.
Melnichenko, O.V., P. Hacker, N.A. Maximenko, G. Lagerloef, and J.T. Potemra, 2014: Spatial Optimal Interpolation of Aquarius Sea Surface Salinity: Algorithms and Implementation in the North Atlantic. J. Atmos. Ocean. Tech., 31 (7), 1583-1600, doi:10.1175/JTECH-D-13-00241.1. IPRC-1052.
Belmadani, A., N.A. Maximenko, J.P. McCreary, R. Furue, O.V. Melnichenko, N. Schneider, and E. Di Lorenzo, 2013: Linear wind-forced beta-plumes with application to the Hawaiian Lee Countercurrent. J. Phys. Oceanogr., 43 (10), 2071-2094, doi:10.1175/JPO-D-12-0194.1. IPRC-990.
Carson, H.S., M.R. Lamson, D. Nakashima, D. Toloumu, J. Hafner, N.A. Maximenko, and K.J. McDermid, 2013: Tracking the sources and sinks of local marine debris in Hawai'i Marine Environmental Research, 84, 76-83, doi:10.1016/j.marenvres.2012.12.002. IPRC-947.
Eriksen, M., N.A. Maximenko, M. Thiel, A. Cummins, G. Lattin, S. Wilson, J. Hafner, A. Zellers, and S. Rifman, 2013: Plastic pollution in the South Pacific subtropical gyre. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 68 (1‐2), 71-76, doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2012.12.021. IPRC-948.
Belmadani, A., N.A. Maximenko, J.P. McCreary, R. Furue, O.V. Melnichenko, N. Schneider, E. Di Lorenzo, 2013: Linear wind-forced beta-plumes with application to the Hawaiian Lee Countercurrent. J. Phys. Oceanogr., 43 (10), 2071-2094, doi:10.1175/JPO-D-12-0194.1. IPRC-990.
Carson, H.S., M.R. Lamson, D. Nakashima, D. Toloumu, J. Hafner, N.A. Maximenko, and K.J. McDermid, 2013: Tracking the sources and sinks of local marine debris in Hawai'i Marine Environmental Research, 84, 76-83, doi:10.1016/j.marenvres.2012.12.002. IPRC-947.
Eriksen, M., N.A. Maximenko, M. Thiel, A. Cummins, G. Lattin, S. Wilson, J. Hafner, A. Zellers, and S. Rifman, 2013: Plastic pollution in the South Pacific subtropical gyre. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 68 (1‐2), 71-76, doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2012.12.021. IPRC-948.
Maximenko, N.A., R. Lumpkin, and L. Centurioni, 2013: Ocean Surface Circulation. In G. Siedler, S.M. Griffies, J. Gould, and J.A. Church (Eds.), Ocean Circulation and Climate, International Geophysics Series Volume 103, Academic Press, 283-304. IPRC-962.
Lumpkin, R., N.A. Maximenko, and M. Pazos, 2012: Evaluating where and why drifters die. J. Atmos. Ocean. Tech., 29 (2), 300‐308, doi:10.1175/JTECH-D-11-00100.1. IPRC-828.
Maximenko, N.A., J. Hafner, and P. Niiler, 2012: Pathways of marine debris from trajectories of Lagrangian drifters. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 65 (1‐3), 51-62, doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2011.04.016. IPRC-782.
Dohan, K., and N.A. Maximenko, 2010: Monitoring ocean currents with satellite. Oceanography, 23 (4), 94-103.
Law, K.L., S. Morét-Ferguson, N.A. Maximenko, G. Proskurowski, E. E. Peacock, J. Hafner, and C. M. Reddy, 2010: Plastic accumulation in the North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre. Science, 329, 1185-1188.
Lamas, L., A. Peliz, I. Ambar, A. Barbosa Aguiar, N.A. Maximenko, and A. Teles-Machado, 2010: Evidence of time-mean cyclonic cell southwest of Iberian Peninsula: The Mediterranean Outflow-driven beta-plume? Geophys. Res. Lett., 37, L12606, doi:10.1029/2010GL043339.
Melnichenko, O.V., N.A. Maximenko, N. Schneider, and H. Sasaki, 2010: Quasi-stationary striations in basin-scale oceanic circulation: Vorticity balance from observations and eddy-resolving model. Ocean Dynamics, 60 (3), 653-666.
Sasaki,Y., N. Schneider, N.A. Maximenko, and K. Lebedev, 2010: Observational evidence for propagation of decadal spiciness anomalies in the North Pacific. Geophys. Res. Lett., 37, L07708, doi:10.1029/2010GL042716.
Maximenko, N.A., P. Niiler, M.-H. Rio, O. Melnichenko, L. Centurioni, D. Chambers, V. Zlotnicki, and B. Galperin, 2009: Mean dynamic topography of the ocean derived from satellite and drifting buoy data using three different techniques journal. J. Atmos. Ocean. Tech., 26 (9), 1910-1919.
Maximenko, N.A., O.V. Melnichenko, P.P. Niiler, and H. Sasaki, 2008: Stationary mesoscale jet-like features in the ocean. Geophys. Res. Lett., 35, L08603, doi:10.1029/2008GL033267.
Maximenko, N.A., P.P. Niiler, and O.V. Melnichenko, 2008: Global mean dynamic ocean topography reveals new coherent features of surface circulation. Proceedings of the 2007 International Conference "Fluxes and Structures in Fluid", pp. 146-155. Moscow, Russia.
Panteleev, G., D. Nechaev, V. Luchin, P. Stabeno, N.A. Maximenko, and M. Ikeda, 2008 : Toward development of the 4Dvar data assimilation system in the Bering Sea: Reconstruction of the mean dynamic topography. Chinese Journal of Polar Research, 19 (2),123-134.
Wilson, C., T.A. Villareal, N.A. Maximenko, S.J. Bograd, J.P. Montoya, and C.A. Schoenbaechler, 2008: Biological and physical forcings of late summer chlorophyll blooms at 30°N in the oligotrophic Pacific. J. Mar. Sys., 69, 164-176.
Huang, H.-P., A. Kaplan, E.N. Curchitser, and N.A. Maximenko, 2007: The degree of anisotropy for mid-ocean currents from satellite observations and an eddy-resolving model simulation. J. Geophys. Res.-Oceans, 112, C09005, doi:10.1029/2007JC004105.
Melnichenko, O.V., and N.A. Maximenko, 2007: Stationary alternating zonal jets in hydrographic data of the eastern North Pacific. Proceedings of PACON 2007: Ocean Observing Systems and Marine Environment, 55-63.
Maximenko, N.A., and P.P. Niiler: Mean surface circulation of the global ocean inferred from satellite altimeter and drifter data. In 15 years of Progress in Radar Altimetry, ESA Publication SP-614, July 2006.
Richards, K.J., N.A. Maximenko, F.O. Bryan, and H. Sasaki, 2006: Zonal Jets in the Pacific Ocean. Geophys. Res. Lett., 33, L03605, doi:10.1029/2005GL024645.
Liu, Q., S.-P. Xie, L. Li, and N.A. Maximenko, 2005: Ocean thermal advective effect on the annual range of sea surface temperature.Geophys. Res. Lett., 32, L24604, doi:10.1029/2005GL024493.
Maximenko, N.A., B. Bang, and H. Sasaki, 2005: Observational evidence of alternating zonal jets in the World Ocean. Geophys. Res. Lett., 32, L12607, doi:10.1029/2005GL022728.
Maximenko, N.A., and R.I. Gouskina, 2005: A method for current velocity correction contaminated by wind wave effect on surface float of the mooring. Oceanology, 45 (2), 179-185.
Maximenko, N.A., and P.P. Niiler, 2005: Hybrid decade-mean global sea level with mesoscale resolution. In N. Saxena (Ed.) Recent Advances in Marine Science and Technology, 2004, pp. 55-59. Honolulu: PACON International.
Maximenko, N.A., 2004: Correspondence between Lagrangian and Eulerian velocity statistics at the ASUKA line. J. Oceanogr., 60 (4), 681-687.
Niiler, P.P., N.A. Maximenko, and J.C. McWilliams, 2003: Dynamically balanced absolute sea level of the global ocean derived from near-surface velocity observations. Geophys. Res. Lett., 30 (22), 2164, doi:10.1029/2003GRL018628, 2003.
Niiler, P.P., N.A. Maximenko, G.G. Panteleev, T. Yamagata, and D.B. Olson, 2003: Near-surface dynamical structure of the Kuroshio Extension. J. Geophys. Res.-Oceans, 108 (C6), 3193.
Yu, Z., N.A. Maximenko, S.-P. Xie, and M. Nonaka, 2003: On the termination of the Hawaiian Lee Countercurrent. Geophys. Res. Lett., 30 (5), 1215, doi:10.1029/2002GL016710.
Maximenko, N.A., 2002: Index and composites of the Kuroshio meander south of Japan. J. Oceanogr., 58, 639-649.
Panteleev, G.G., N.A. Maximenko, B. deYoung, C. Reiss, and T. Yamagata, 2002: Variational interpolation of circulation with nonlinear, advective smoothing. J. Atmos. Oceanic Tech., 19 (9),1442-1450.
Yaremchuk, M., and N.A. Maximenko, 2002: A dynamically consistent analysis of the mesoscale eddy field at the western North Pacific Subarctic Front. J. Geophys. Res.-Oceans, 107 (C12), 16, doi:10.1029/2002JC001379.
Maximenko, N.A., M.N. Koshlyakov, Y.A. Ivanov, M.I. Yaremchuk, and G.G. Panteleev, 2001: Hydrophysical experiment "Megapolygon-87" in the northwestern Pacific Subarctic Frontal Zone. J. Geophys. Res.-Oceans, 106, 14,143-14,163.
Panteleev, G.G., N.A. Maximenko, B. deYoung, C. Reiss, and T. Yamagata, 2000: Anisotropic optimization of the current field with the variational method. Oceanology, 40, 451-457.
Byshev, V.I., V.D. Yegorihin, N.A. Maximenko, and V.K. Sobol, 1997: Structure and synoptic variability of the North Atlantic Current at the meridional section along 36N in Summer of 1990. Doklady of Russian Academy of Sciences, 355 (3), 397-400.
Maximenko, N.A., P.P. Niiler, and T. Yamagata, 1997: Mean circulation in the North Western Pacific mixed layer from drifter data. International WOCE Newsletter, No.25, 13-14.
Maximenko, N.A., G.G. Panteleev, A. Grotov, P.P. Niiler, and T. Yamagata, 1997: Mean circulation in the North Western Pacific mixed layer from TOGA/WOCE Lagrangian drifters. Proceedings of the CREAMS'97 International Symposium, Fukuoka, Japan, January 28-30, 1997, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan, 189-192.
Maximenko, N.A., A.Yu. Shcherbina, R.I. Gouskina, and A.I. Kharlamov, 1997: Spatial structure and dynamics of the layer of North Pacific intermediate water. Oceanology, 37 (6), 798-805.
Maximenko, N.A., T. Yamagata, and K. Okuda, 1997: Frontal convection in the Kuroshio and at the Subarctic Front. Oceanology, 37 (3), 295-300.
Maximenko, N.A., and A.G. Zatsepin, 1997: On regularities of dense water sinking downslope the shelf. Oceanology, 37 (4), 513-516.
Yu.A. Gol'din, and N.A. Maksimenko, 1996: Application of a mathematical model of an automatic buoy station to the analysis of measured temperature distortion.Oceanology, 36, No.6, 885-890.
Maximenko, N.A., and T. Yamagata, 1995: Submesoscale anomalies in the North Pacific Subarctic Front. J.Geophys.Res., 100, No.C9, 18,459-18,469.
Maximenko, N.A., 1993: Intrathermocline lens in the Northwestern Pacific ocean. Oceanology, 33, No.3, 287-292.
Maximenko, N.A. and N.M. Mardashkina, 1993: Advective mixing by eddies, particle dispersion. Oceanology, 33 (4), 507-512.
Maximenko, N.A., P.P. Niiler, A.L. Sybrandy, and A.I. Kharlamov, 1993: Drifter experiment in Black Sea. Oceanology, 33 (3), 379-383.
Maximenko, N.A., 1992: Effect of surface waves on current meter velocity measurements. Experiment Megapolygon (ed.: Yu A. Ivanov), 304-318.
Maximenko, N.A., 1990: Comparative analysis of Lagrangian statistical characteristics for synoptic-scale currents in hydrophysical study areas. Oceanology, 30 (1), 5-9.
Maximenko, N.A., 1986: Transport and mixing in the ocean in a field of synoptic eddies according to POLYMODE data. Oceanology, 26 (2), 140-144.