Dr. Alexander (Sasha) Yankovsky

Assistant Professor, Marine Science Program and

Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences

Ph.D., Marine Hydrophysical Institute, Sevastopol, USSR (Ukraine), 1991.

Office: 308 Earth and Water Sciences Bldg.

E-mail address: ayankovsky@geol.sc.edu

Phone: (803) 777-3550

Research Interests

My primary research interests are focused on the flow dynamics on continental shelves, in marginal seas and in estuaries. This includes wind- and buoyancy-driven currents, transient and time-variable processes, long waves and wave-current interaction, mesoscale variability, and adjustment of waves and currents to topographic and coastline features. My research comprises numerical modeling and the analysis of observational data, both in situ and remotely-sensed.

Research Projects in South Carolina

- A numerical modeling of coastal currents driven by multiple or continuous sources of fresh water along the coastline (numerous small rivers or melting ice). Examples of relevant current systems in the World Ocean include the Alaska Coastal Current, the Norwegian Coastal Current, and the East Greenland Coastal Current, among others. These current systems exhibit numerous eddies and vortices, which strongly affect the freshwater distribution. This study emphasizes the role of spatially- and temporally-variable atmospheric forcing, background flow conditions and coastal topography in the formation of mesoscale vortices in coastal buoyancy-driven currents. These eddies contribute to the partition between the offshore and the alongshore transport of buoyant water.

- A numerical modeling of long-wave response on continental shelves induced by the landfall of an atmospheric tropical cyclone. Some of the most severe storm events in the coastal ocean are forced by translating tropical cyclones (including hurricanes and typhoons). When the atmospheric cyclone approaches the coastline, it induces a storm surge, which can propagate along the continental shelf as a long wave trapped by bathymetry and/or coastline. Arrival of this wave at a certain location significantly modifies coastal circulation driven by the local forcing and causes a severe flooding.  The project delineates the role of subinertial (low-frequency) versus super-inertial (high-frequency) long waves in the coastal response to the translating mesoscale cyclone. The cyclone’s translation speed and radius, as well as the continental shelf topography are considered as parameters, whose impact on the long wave period, modal structure, and amplitude is studied. The importance of alongshore topographic and coastline variations is also considered.  

- Dynamics of tidal waves in upper estuaries or river channels, and their interaction with mean (riverine) flow and bathymetric forms. This project combines observational studies in several rivers running off into the South Atlantic Bight, and numerical modeling. The focus of this project is on the transition zone from tidal to fluvial regime, and the relationship between tidal dissipation and channel geomorphology. This is a collaborative project with Dr. Raymond Torres (USC).    

Graduate Students at USC

• John Rogers-Cotrone, M.S., Geological Sciences, 2008

• Ziming “Alex” Ke, M.S., Marine Science, 2010

• Yan  Jia, M.S., Marine Science, 2011

• Legna Torres, Ph.D. Candidate, Geological Sciences

Classes taught at USC

GEOL/MSCI 785  Atmospheric Dynamics

GEOL/MSCI  784  Geophysical Fluid Dynamics

MS CI 599A  Waves in the Ocean

GEOL/MSCI 581  Estuarine Oceanography

MSCI 312  Physical Oceanography Section 

MSCI 305  Ocean Data Analysis

GEOL/MSCI 215  Coastal Environment of the SE

Selected Publications (complete list of publications is here)

- Ke, Z., and A. E. Yankovsky, 2011: Relative role of subinertial and superinertial modes in the coastal long wave response forced by the landfall of a tropical cyclone. Continental Shelf Research, 31, 929-938.

- Ke, Z., and A. E. Yankovsky, 2010: The Hybrid Kelvin-Edge Wave and Its Role in Tidal Dynamics. Journal of Physical Oceanography, 40, 2757-2767.

- Yankovsky, A. E., G. M. Maze, and T. J. Weingartner, 2010: Offshore transport of the Alaska Coastal Current water induced by a cyclonic wind field. Geophysical Research Letters, 37, L03604, doi:10.1029/2009GL041939.

- Yankovsky, A. E., 2009: Large-scale edge waves generated by hurricane landfall. Journal of Geophysical Research, 114, C03014, doi:10.1029/2008JC005113.

- Rogers-Cotrone, J., A. E. Yankovsky, and T. J. Weingartner, 2008: The impact of spatial wind variations on freshwater transport by the Alaska Coastal Current. Journal of Marine Research, 66, 899-925.

- Sanay, R., A. Yankovsky, and G. Voulgaris, 2008: Inner shelf circulation patterns and nearshore flow reversal under downwelling and stratified conditions off a curved coastline. Journal of Geophysical Research, 113, C08050, doi:10.1029/2007JC004487.

- Yankovsky, A. E., 2008: Long-wave response of the West Florida Shelf to the landfall of Hurricane Wilma, October 2005. Journal of Coastal Research, 24(4C), 33-39.

- Yankovsky, A. E., 2006: On the validity of thermal wind balance in alongshelf currents off the New Jersey coast. Continental Shelf Research, 26, 1171-1183.

- Yankovsky, A. E., 2004: Interaction of transient shelf currents with a buoyancy-driven coastal current. Journal of Marine Research, 62, 545-563.

- Yankovsky, A. E., E. M. Lemeshko, and Y. P. Ilyin, 2004: The influence of shelfbreak forcing on the alongshelf penetration of the Danube buoyant water, Black Sea. Continental Shelf Research, 24, 1083-1098.

- Yankovsky, A. E., 2003: The cold water pathway during an upwelling event on the New Jersey shelf. Journal of Physical Oceanography, 33, 1954-1966.

- Yankovsky, A. E., B. M. Hickey, and A. K. Münchow, 2001: The impact of variable inflow on the dynamics of a coastal buoyant plume. Journal of Geophysical Research, 106, 19,809-19,824.

- Yankovsky, A. E., 2000: The cyclonic turning and propagation of buoyant coastal discharge along the shelf. Journal of Marine Research, 58, 585-607.

- Yankovsky, A. E., R. W. Garvine, and A. Münchow, 2000: Mesoscale currents on the inner New Jersey shelf driven by the interaction of buoyancy and wind forcing. Journal of Physical Oceanography, 30, 2214-2230.

- Yankovsky, A. E., and R. W. Garvine, 1998: Subinertial dynamics on the inner New Jersey shelf during the upwelling season. Journal of Physical Oceanography, 28, 2444-2458.

- Yankovsky, A. E., and D. C. Chapman, 1997b: A simple theory for the fate of buoyant coastal discharges. Journal of Physical Oceanography, 27, 1386-1401.

- Yankovsky, A. E., and D. C. Chapman, 1997a: Anticyclonic eddies trapped on the continental shelf by topographic irregularities. Journal of Geophysical Research, 102, 5625-5639.

- Yankovsky, A. E., and D. C. Chapman, 1995: Generation of mesoscale flows over the shelf and slope by shelf wave scattering in the presence of a stable, sheared mean current. Journal of Geophysical Research, 100, 6725‑6742.

- Ivanov, V. A., and A. E. Yankovsky, 1994: Seawater dynamics on the Crimean shelf in summer. Morskoy Gidrofizichesky Zhurnal, No. 3, 38-56 (in Russian).

- Yankovsky, A. E., 1993: Scattering of barotropic shelf waves by the changing shelf width. Izvestiya Academii Nauk. Fizika Atmosfery Okeana, 29, 369‑376 (in Russian). 

- Ivanov, V. A., and A. E. Yankovsky, 1993: Local Dynamics Experiment in the shelf zone of Southern Crimean coast. Okeanologiya, 33, 49‑56 (in Russian).