Marie Zahn
Address:
4800 Oak Grove Drive
Pasadena, CA 91109Curriculum Vitae:
Click hereMember of:
Ocean Circulation And Air Sea InteractionJPL Postdoctoral Fellow
Biography
Marie Zahn is a polar oceanographer and marine biologist working on NASA’s Salinity and Stratification at the Sea Ice Edge (SASSIE) project. Her research at JPL examines how salinity anomalies and stratification in the upper ocean (<100m) influence sea ice formation in the Beaufort Sea, north of Alaska. Her work leverages cloud computing to process and analyze a pan-Arctic high resolution ocean model, satellite observations, and in situ data. Understanding how the Arctic Ocean controls the timing, location, and processes of sea ice formation enables more accurate predictions of future sea ice loss.
Marie earned her Ph.D. from the University of Washington studying beluga and narwhal echolocation and seasonal hydrography near glaciers in West Greenland. With an interdisciplinary background, she is interested in linking oceanographic variability and marine mammal ecology to advance our understanding of Arctic marine ecosystems.
Education
- B.A., Environmental Biology, Columbia University (2016)
- Ph.D., Aquatic and Fishery Sciences (Data Science Certificate), University of Washington (2023)
Professional Experience
- Postdoctoral Scholar, Applied Physics Laboratory, Polar Science Center, University of Washington (2024-2025)
- Marine Mammal Acoustician, NOAA Pacific Islands and Southwest Fisheries Science Center (2023)
- Polar Bear Observer and Data Manager for East Greenland Polar Bear Aerial Survey (2023)
- Field Science Leader, NSF Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Program, Palmer Station, Antarctica (2017-2019)
- Field Research Technician, The Native Village of Eyak (2019)
- Biological Technician, Prince William Sound Science Center (2017)
Community Service
- Member of Maine Coastal Mountain Search and Rescue Unit (2025-present)
- Science Mentor and Member, Society for Women in Marine Science (2024-present)
- Volunteer Climber/Fundraiser for Climb for the American Lung Association Clean Air Program to Summit Mt. Rainier (2020-2021)
- National Ocean Sciences Bowl Volunteer (2020-2021)
Research Interests
- Arctic oceanographic variability and water mass transformation using in situ, satellite, and ocean model data
- Interactions between glaciers, sea ice, and the ocean
- High-resolution coupled sea ice-ocean numerical modeling
- Integrated oceanographic and biological methods to study Arctic ecology
- Marine mammal behavior and habitat using passive acoustics and oceanography
Selected Awards
- University of Washington School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences Faculty Merit Award for the PhD Program (2024)
- Animal Bioacoustics Technical Committee Best Student Paper Award (2022)
- The Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean, and Ecosystem Studies (CICOES) Graduate Research Fellowship (2022)
- University of Washington College of the Environment Top-Off Award (2019)
- University of Washington School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences Fellowship (2019)
Selected Publications
- Laidre, KL, MJ Zahn, M Simon, M Ladegaard, K Stafford, E Phillips, T Moon, HL Stern, B Cohen (2024). Narwhal (Monodon monoceros) associations with Greenland summer meltwater release. Ecosphere e70024. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.70024.
- Zahn, MJ, KL Laidre, M Simon, KM Stafford, M Wood, JK Willis, EM Phillips, I Fenty (2024). Consistent seasonal hydrography from moorings at Northwest Greenland glacier fronts. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 129, e2024JC021046. https://doi.org/10.1029/2024JC021046.
- Zahn, MJ, M Ladegaard, M Simon, KM Stafford, T Sakai, KL Laidre. (2024). Accurate species classification of Arctic toothed whale echolocation clicks using one-third octave ratios. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 155(4): 2359–2370. https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0025460.
- Laidre, KL, J Ware, MJ Zahn, P Hegelund, J Aars (2024). First recorded ice entrapment of a beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas) in East Greenland. Polar Research 43. https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v43.9844.
- Zahn, MJ, S Rankin, JLK McCullough, JC Koblitz, F Archer, MH Rasmussen, KL Laidre (2021). Acoustic differentiation and classification of wild belugas and narwhals using echolocation clicks. Scientific Reports 11:22141. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-01441-w.
- Zahn, MJ, KL Laidre, P Stilz, MH Rasmussen, JC Koblitz (2021). Vertical sonar beam width and scanning behavior of wild belugas (Delphinapterus leucas) in West Greenland. PLoS ONE 16(9): e0257054. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0257054.
- Zahn, MJ, MI Palmer, NJ Turner (2018). “Everything we do, it’s cedar”: First Nation and ecologically-based forester land management philosophies in coastal British Columbia. Journal of Ethnobiology 38(3): 314-332. https://doi.org/10.2993/0278-0771-38.2.314.