Nathan Laxague

Nathan Laxague

Assistant Professor
Phone: (603) 862-4023
Office: Kingsbury Hall, Durham, NH 03824
Websites:
Prof. Laxague received his Ph.D. in 2016 from the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science at the University of Miami and his B.S. in 2011 from the University of Miami. Prior to joining UNH, he was a postdoctoral research scientist at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.

Prof. Laxague makes field and laboratory measurements to explore the fundamental physical interactions between the Earth’s atmosphere and oceans. He is particularly interested in ocean surface waves and their mediation of air-sea fluxes, looking to leverage the best-available engineering solutions in order to improve in-situ observational techniques.

Courses Taught

  • ME 603: Heat Transfer
  • ME 795/895: SpcTop/Experimentl Fluid Dynam
  • ME 999: Doctoral Research
  • OE 754/854: Ocean Waves and Tides
  • OE 795/895/995: SpcTop/DynamAirSeaInteraction
  • OE 999: Doctoral Research

Education

  • Ph.D., University of Miami
  • B.S., University of Miami

Research Interests

  • Coastal & Ocean Engineering
  • Fluid Mechanics
  • Physical Oceanography
  • Surface Waves

Selected Publications

  • Soumya, S., Laxague, N., Savelyev, I., & Zappa, C. (2026). Thermal marking measurements of horizontal velocity gradients, turbulent kinetic energy, and its dissipation rate at an undulating wind ruffled air-water interface. Experiments in Fluids, 67(5). doi:10.1007/s00348-026-04195-1

  • Ortiz-Suslow, D. G., Laxague, N., Björkqvist, J. -V., & Curcic, M. (2025). Accounting for Ocean Waves and Current Shear in Wind Stress Parameterization. Boundary-Layer Meteorology, 191(9). doi:10.1007/s10546-025-00926-9

  • Laxague, N. J. M., Göksu Duvarc?, Z., Hogan, L., Anderson, S. P., & Zappa, C. J. (2025). The Effects of Subpixel Variability on Polarimetric Sensing of Ocean Waves. IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 63, 1-13. doi:10.1109/tgrs.2025.3538460

  • Tan, P., Savelyev, I., Laxague, N. J. M., Haus, B. K., Curcic, M., Matt, S., . . . Wray, S. (2025). Wind?Wave Momentum Flux in Steep, Strongly Forced, Surface Gravity Wave Conditions. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 130(1). doi:10.1029/2024jc021616

  • Laxague, N. J. M., Zappa, C. J., Soumya, S., & Wurl, O. (2024). The suppression of ocean waves by biogenic slicks.. J R Soc Interface, 21(220), 20240385. doi:10.1098/rsif.2024.0385

  • D'Asaro, E. A., Shcherbina, A. Y., Klymak, J. M., Molemaker, J., Novelli, G., Guigand, C. M., . . . Ozgokmen, T. M. (2018). Ocean convergence and the dispersion of flotsam. PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 115(6), 1162-1167. doi:10.1073/pnas.1718453115

  • Laxague, N. J. M., Ozgokmen, T. M., Haus, B. K., Novelli, G., Shcherbina, A., Sutherland, P., . . . Molemaker, J. (2018). Observations of Near-Surface Current Shear Help Describe Oceanic Oil and Plastic Transport. GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, 45(1), 245-249. doi:10.1002/2017GL075891

  • Novelli, G., Guigand, C. M., Cousin, C., Ryan, E. H., Laxague, N. J. M., Dai, H., . . . Ozgokmen, T. M. (2017). A Biodegradable Surface Drifter for Ocean Sampling on a Massive Scale. JOURNAL OF ATMOSPHERIC AND OCEANIC TECHNOLOGY, 34(11), 2509-2532. doi:10.1175/JTECH-D-17-0055.1

  • Jacobs, G. A., Bartels, B. P., Bogucki, D. J., Beron-Vera, F. J., Chen, S. S., Coelho, E. F., . . . Wei, M. (2014). Data assimilation considerations for improved ocean predictability during the Gulf of Mexico Grand Lagrangian Deployment (GLAD). OCEAN MODELLING, 83, 98-117. doi:10.1016/j.ocemod.2014.09.003

  • Johnson, N., Carran, S., Botner, J., Fontaine, K., Laxague, N., Nuetzel, P., . . . Tivnan, B. (2011). Pattern in Escalations in Insurgent and Terrorist Activity. SCIENCE, 333(6038), 81-84. doi:10.1126/science.1205068

View All
  • Most Cited Publications