Dr. Jennifer McWhorter

Dr. Jennifer McWhorter is an Assistant Scientist at the University of Miami, where she works with the NOAA/AOML's Physical Oceanography Division. Since joining the Ocean Biogeochemistry Group in 2022, she's been using data from Biogeochemical-Argo floats to study how climate extremes affect subsurface ocean processes in the Gulf of America (Mexico) and the Caribbean. Her work analyzes various biogeochemical parameters, including temperature, salinity, oxygen, pH, nitrate, chlorophyll a, and backscatter particles.

McWhorter's interdisciplinary approach to ocean science began during her Master's in Advanced Studies at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Following her master's degree, she worked for ocean observations programs, at Scripps. In 2018, she began a Ph.D. program, jointly hosted by the Universities of Queensland and Exeter. Her dissertation focused on evaluating thermal refugia on the Great Barrier Reef using a 1-D semi-dynamic coupled bio-physical model. Her research has enhanced our understanding of how mesoscale features and stratification impact reef environments, and her findings have been published in high-impact journals like PNAS and Global Change Biology.

Through a combination of modeling, fieldwork, and data synthesis, Dr. McWhorter's research aims to inform climate resilience strategies for vulnerable marine ecosystems. Her most recent work involves a study that integrates data from several autonomous observing systems to understand ocean biogeochemical cycling during a hurricane in the Gulf region.