Prof. Rana A. Fine
RSMAS/MAC
University of Miami
4600 Rickenbacker Causeway
Miami, FL 33149-1098
Telephone: 305.421.4722
Fax: 305.421.4917
rfine@rsmas.miami.edu

The objective of our research is to understand the role of the oceans in climate change occurring on time scales of up to decades. The research involves understanding the physical processes that determine the capacity of the oceans to take up atmospheric constituents, such as carbon-dioxide. On time scales of decades, there are two main physical processes that affect the way the oceans and atmosphere interact. First is by direct air-sea exchange, where we use satellite and direct oceanographic observations to map the global air-sea flux of carbon dioxide. Then once the atmospheric gases are in the oceans, we study how fast they mix. We participate in several international Global Change programs. Our contribution includes the measurements of two chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) to study the rate at which the world's oceans circulate. Although the major fate for CFCs is the stratosphere, a small amount dissolves as a gas in the surface waters of the ocean. The CFC concentrations are used to infer the rate at which atmospheric gases are mixed into the ocean interior.