Katie Giannakopoulos

Coastal Dynamics Research Associate

Research Interests

I am interested in how the atmosphere, including large-scale climate variability, affects the coastal hazards that we observe in the Gulf of Maine. In January 2024, Maine was impacted by 2 devastating winter storms that damaged or destroyed 70% of Maine’s working waterfront. Unlike nor’easters, which produce winds from the northeast over the coast, these storms generated winds from the southeast (termed “sou’easters”). In my current work, I am creating a climatology of sou’easters from 1950-present to investigate their atmospheric characteristics and occurrences. We aim to determine their atmospheric circulation patterns at different pressure levels, storm tracks, and coastal impacts like storm surge and wave height. As a complement to this work, I am also building an expertise in sea level rise, coastal flooding, and general atmosphere-ocean interactions.

Education

M.S.: Meteorology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK (2024) Thesis: Examining the Characteristics and Evolution of Temperature Whiplash Events in the US Southern Plains (Applied Climate Dynamics Lab)

B.S.: Meteorology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK (2024)

Experience

Coastal Dynamics Research Associate, Gulf of Maine Research Institute (2024- Present)

Graduate Research Assistant, University of Oklahoma- Applied Climate Dynamics Lab, Norman, OK (2022-2024)

Ernest F. Hollings Undergraduate Scholar Intern, National Hurricane Center, Miami, FL (2021)

Undergraduate Research Associate, Cooperative Institute for Severe and High-Impact Weather Research and Operations, Norman, OK (2020-2021)

Undergraduate Research Intern, Oklahoma Mesonet, Norman, OK (2020)