About

Enrique Curchitser is a Professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences at Rutgers University. His research interests focus on Earth System Modeling. He is affiliated with the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, located at 14 College Farm Rd., New Brunswick, NJ 08901-8551. His contact information includes a phone number, 848-932-7889, and an email address, enrique@esm.rutgers.edu. Dr. Curchitser's work involves studying the Earth's systems through advanced modeling techniques, contributing to the understanding of environmental and natural resource sciences.

Research topics

• Oceanography
• Environmental science
• Climatology
• Computer Science
• Geology
• Ecology
• Fishery
• Business
• Biology
• Environmental resource management
• Atmospheric sciences

Selected publications

• "A High-Resolution Coupled Physical-Biogeochemical Model of the Northeastern US Continental Shelf: MOM6-COBALT-NEUS25v1.0" - preprocessing utilities

  Open MIND · 2026-01-31

  otherSenior author

  Preprocessing toolkit for MOM6-COBALT-NEUS25 regional ocean model. Generates forcing files from ERA5 (atmosphere), GLORYS (ocean BC), TPXO (tides), GloFAS (rivers), and creates nudging/damping fields.The github repository and appropriate commit are found here For more information, look for README.md in the compressed file.https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18415603: archived version of the model https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17572585: auxilliary datasets

  DOI

• "Controls of the Latitudinal Migration of the Brazil-Malvinas Confluence described on MOM6-SWA14" figures scripts and files

  Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2026-02-01

  articleOpen access

  These files include the data and scripts used to produce the figures presented in the paper titled "Controls of the Latitudinal Migration of the Brazil-Malvinas Confluence described on MOM6-SWA14 simulations", which was submitted to Geoscientific Model Development.

  PublisherDOI

• "A High-Resolution Coupled Physical-Biogeochemical Model of the Northeastern US Continental Shelf: MOM6-COBALT-NEUS25v1.0" - archived version of the model repository

  Open MIND · 2026-01-29

  datasetSenior author

  The present version of MOM6-COBALT coupled model used in MOM6-COBALT-NEUS25v1.0 is distributed by the GitHub repository managed by the Climate, Ecosystems and Fisheries Initiative (CEFI). This repository uses git commit hash 214d998fba1776261df4af250d17663c272aa218 and corresponding submodules. A companion dataset is also available.

  DOI

• "Controls of the Latitudinal Migration of the Brazil-Malvinas Confluence described on MOM6-SWA14" figures scripts and files

  Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2026-02-01

  articleOpen access

  These files include the data and scripts used to produce the figures presented in the paper titled "Controls of the Latitudinal Migration of the Brazil-Malvinas Confluence described on MOM6-SWA14 simulations", which was submitted to Geoscientific Model Development.

  PublisherDOI

• "A High-Resolution Coupled Physical-Biogeochemical Model of the Northeastern US Continental Shelf: MOM6-COBALT-NEUS25v1.0" - preprocessing utilities

  Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2026-01-31

  otherOpen accessSenior author

  Preprocessing toolkit for MOM6-COBALT-NEUS25 regional ocean model. Generates forcing files from ERA5 (atmosphere), GLORYS (ocean BC), TPXO (tides), GloFAS (rivers), and creates nudging/damping fields.The github repository and appropriate commit are found here For more information, look for README.md in the compressed file.https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18415603: archived version of the model https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17572585: auxilliary datasets

  PublisherDOI

• Comment on egusphere-2025-3823

  2026-01-09

  peer-reviewOpen access

  <strong class="journal-contentHeaderColor">Abstract.</strong> The distribution and productivity of nutrients, eddy formation, energy dissipation, and other ocean properties are influenced by the variability of Western Boundary Currents (WBCs). In the Southwestern Atlantic, the key features are the Brazil-Malvinas Confluence (BMC) and the North of Brazil Current (NBC). This work investigates them using a 20-year high-resolution ocean model simulation with the Modular Ocean Model version 6 (MOM6) 1/14&deg; configuration of the Southwestern Atlantic (SWA). The results reveal a significant deviation in the path and trends of volume transport of the WBCs over the decades. The Brazil-Malvinas Confluence (BMC) region gets saltier and warmer, with increased kinetic energy and transport. Although transport trends in the NBC indicate reduced transport, this results from weaker wind forcing, which reduces the mixing layer depth in the simulation and the subsurface transport in the region. The warming in the Brazil Current region triggers a stronger southward flow, resulting in a southward shift of 0.93&deg; &plusmn; 0.08 of latitude/decade in the BMC separation. Working against this flow, the propagation of the Kelvin Waves from the Eastern Pacific Ocean induces a northern shift of the BMC, revealed by topographic Kelvin waves in the spectral analysis. This Pacific-Atlantic inter-basin relation indicated here underscores the importance of propagating Pacific disturbances into the region to maintain the positioning of the BMC and its properties under a warming Atlantic Ocean.

  PublisherDOI

• A high-resolution coupled physical-biogeochemical model of the northeastern US continental shelf: MOM6-COBALT-NEUS25v1.0

  2026-02-18

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Abstract. Coastal communities along the northeastern U.S. depend on marine resources that have been increasingly affected by ocean warming, marine heatwaves and associated ecosystem shifts over recent decades. High-resolution regional ocean-biogeochemical modeling using the Modular Ocean Model 6 (MOM6) enables studies of fisheries production, marine carbon dioxide removal and sediment biogeochemistry. The northeastern US (NEUS) continental shelf is one of the most widely sampled and measured ocean areas, providing a favorable testbed for regional model development. In this context, we present an assessment of MOM6 coupled with the Carbon, Ocean Biogeochemistry and Lower Trophics (COBALT) model in the NEUS at 1/25° resolution (MOM6-COBALT-NEUS25 version 1.0). The model is validated against a suite of observation databases, satellite products, ocean reanalysis and climatologies for the period between 1993 and 2019 considering different skill metrics. A reasonable representation of the Gulf Stream separation led to realistic simulation of parameters on the continental shelf based on the evaluation of seasonal structure, long-term time series, and spatial variability patterns. For temperature, and salinity, the main biases in the model are located in the Mid-Atlantic Bight, where the vertical and bottom structure show mixed-quality results that are dependent on season and depth, while surface fields and the vertical structure results in the Gulf of Maine are comparable with global ocean reanalysis and other regional model results. The inclusion of tides allowed the regional patches of cold sea surface temperature to develop, a feature generally absent in global ocean reanalysis. Simulated biogeochemical parameters for surface chlorophyll, nutrients and integrated mesozooplankton showed the expected seasonal structure with peaks occurring in spring and fall. Discrepancies between the performance of the model in representing physical and biogeochemical parameters indicate that improved boundary conditions of biogeochemistry parameters may be necessary to a further enhance representation of seasonal and interannual variability of biogeochemistry in this domain. Despite these challenges, this version of the model reproduces the major physical and biogeochemical patterns of the NEUS, providing a robust foundation for various future applications.

  PublisherDOI

• "A High-Resolution Coupled Physical-Biogeochemical Model of the Northeastern US Continental Shelf: MOM6-COBALT-NEUS25v1.0" - archived version of the model repository

  Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2026-01-29

  datasetOpen accessSenior author

  The present version of MOM6-COBALT coupled model used in MOM6-COBALT-NEUS25v1.0 is distributed by the GitHub repository managed by the Climate, Ecosystems and Fisheries Initiative (CEFI). This repository uses git commit hash 214d998fba1776261df4af250d17663c272aa218 and corresponding submodules. A companion dataset is also available.

  PublisherDOI

• Understanding historical and projected compound change on the Northwest Atlantic shelf

  2025-07-25 · 1 citations

  preprintOpen access

  Increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations are accompanied by ocean acidification, oxygen loss, and warming of the global ocean. However, in coastal environments, local processes that occur on small spatial scales can moderate or exacerbate these trends. These processes are not well represented in global climate models. Therefore, downscaled tools are useful to decipher carbonate system drivers and predict conditions. Here we describe the application of a ROMS based regional model of the northwest Atlantic shelf, stretching from Florida to Newfoundland, with ~7 km horizontal resolution. The biogeochemical model relies on the Carbon, Ocean Biogeochemistry and Lower Trophics (COBALT) model in combination with regional empirical models to reconstruct the carbon variables. Using a 30-year historical simulation, model results are evaluated against in situ observations and then used to estimate anthropogenic carbon inventories for the region. Historical trends differ between surface and bottom conditions with bottom trends identified as more severe. Circulation and changes in the water column metabolism amplify local rates of change historically, while warming and water mass changes act to dampen these changes. Regional locations of accelerated carbon storage and accumulation are identified and described to be modified by coastal processes. A time-varying dynamic delta forced future projection out to 2098 under SSP5-8.5 projects how these trends will continue and indicates future acceleration of trends. Observing compound change, or multiple stressors changing in concert or closely, requires not only over-constraint on the carbon cycle parameters, but also multiple co-existing biogeochemical observations to refine the mechanisms responsible for local climate variability.

  PublisherDOI

• Controls of the Latitudinal Migration of the Brazil-Malvinas Confluence described in MOM6-SWA14

  2025-10-23

  articleOpen access

  Abstract. The distribution and productivity of nutrients, eddy formation, energy dissipation, and other ocean properties are influenced by the variability of Western Boundary Currents (WBCs). In the Southwestern Atlantic, the key features are the Brazil-Malvinas Confluence (BMC) and the North of Brazil Current (NBC). This work investigates them using a 20 year high-resolution ocean model simulation with the Modular Ocean Model version 6 (MOM6) 1/14° configuration. The results reveal a significant deviation in the path and trends of volume transport of the WBCs over the decades. The BMC adjacent region gets saltier and warmer, with increased kinetic energy and transport. Although transport trends in the NBC indicate reduced transport, this results from weaker wind forcing, which reduces the Mixed Layer Depth (MLD) in the simulation and the subsurface transport in the region. The warming in the Brazil Current region triggers a stronger southward flow, resulting in a southward shift of 0.93 ± 0.08° of latitude/decade in the BMC separation. Working against this flow, the propagation of the Kelvin Waves from the Eastern Pacific Ocean induces a northern shift of the BMC, revealed by topographic Kelvin Waves in the spectral analysis. This Pacific-Atlantic inter-basin relation indicated here underscores the importance of propagating Pacific disturbances into the region to maintain the positioning of the BMC and its properties under a warming Atlantic Ocean.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• Collaborative Research: BEST Synthesis: The variable transport of pollock eggs and larvae over the Bering shelf - A marriage of physics and biology

  NSF · $194k · 2011–2014

• Collaborative Research: EaSM-3: Regional decadal predictions of coupled climate-human systems

  NSF · $800k · 2014–2018

• Collaborative Research: Climate Variability and Change in the U.S. GLOBEC Regions as Simulated by the IPCC Climate Models: Ecosystem Implications

  NSF · $83k · 2008–2012

• Type 2: A CRI-EaSM Collaborative proposal: Climate-to-humans: A study of urbanized coastal environments, their economics and vulnerability to climate change

  NSF · $2.3M · 2011–2016

• Collaborative: US-GLOBEC NEP Phase IIIa-CCS: Effects of Meso- and Basin-Scale Variability on Zooplankton Populations in the CCS Using Data-Assimilative, Physical/Ecosystem Models

  NSF · $158k · 2007–2009

Frequent coauthors

• Charles A. Stock

  NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory

  79 shared

• Raphaël Dussin

  NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory

  47 shared

• Dujuan Kang

  Shanghai Jiao Tong University

  41 shared

• Michael A. Alexander

  NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory

  40 shared

• Katherine Hedstrom

  36 shared

• Sang‐Ik Shin

  University of Colorado Boulder

  31 shared

• James D. Scott

  Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences

  31 shared

• Albert J. Hermann

  Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences

  26 shared

Education

• Ph.D.

  Rutgers University