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Yasser Abualnaja

Associate Professor of Practice

Associate Director, Climate Change Research Center
Physical Science and Engineering Division
Email icon yasser.abualnaja@kaust.edu.sa

Research Interests

Professor Abualnaja research interests include air-sea boundary layer response to atmospheric forcing, air-sea exchange of heat and momentum, climate variability, sea level fluctuations, water mass formation, observation and modeling of meso-scale ocean circulation and Integrated Coastal Zone Management. These research interests are pursued using a variety of approaches, such as analysis of satellite-derived and in situ observations, and application of numerical models in the study of atmosphere-ocean interaction and ocean dynamics.
Prof. Abualnaja has provided scientific leadership, advice and training to the Saudi government, as well as to private sector entities and local communities, in the design and implementation of marine, meteorological and environmental projects at national and local scales. 
Keyword tag icon air-sea interaction climate variability sea level fluctuations water mass formation observation and modeling of meso-scale ocean circulation

Education Profile

  • Ph. D., Oceanography, Florida Institute of Technology (FIT), 2005
  • M. SC., Coastal Zone Management, Florida Institute of Technology (FIT), 2000
  • M. SC., Oceanography-Physical option, Florida Institute of Technology (FIT),1998
  • B. S. (summa cum laude), Marine Physics, King Abdulaziz University (KAU), 1992

Publications

  • Waqar ul Hassan, Munir Ahmad Nayak, Md Saquib Saharwardi, Junaid Ahmad Dar, Hari Prasad Dasari, Ibrahim Hoteit and Yasser Abualnaja. “Unveiling the devastating effect of the spring 2022 mega-heatwave on the South Asian snowpack”, Communications Earth & Environment. Volume 5, Article number: 707, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-024-01857-y.

  • Yasser O. Abualnaja, Alexandra Pavlidou, Afroditi Androni, Dionysios Ballas, James H. Churchill, Ioannis Hatzianestis, Harilaos Kontoyiannis, Angeliki Konstantinopoulou, Georgios Krokkos, Georgios Pappas, Vassilis P. Papadopoulos, Konstantinos Parinos, Elvira Plakidi, Eleni Rousselaki, Dimitris Velaoras, Panagiota Zachioti, Theodore Zoulias, Taha Boksmati, Rayan Mutwalli, Ahmad Alharbi, Hammad Alsulmi, Saleh Omar Maghrabi, Hassan Mowalad, and Ibrahim Hoteit. “Coastal Water Characteristics along the Saudi Arabian Coastline during field surveys in June and September 2021”. Earth System Science Data (ESSD). Volume 16, issue 4, 1703–1731, 2024. https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2023-374

  • Tzempelikou E., Parinos C., Zeri C., Abualnaja Y., Hatzianestis I., Plakidi E., Chourdaki S. Iliakis S., Pavlidou A. “Pollution status of the water column in coastal areas of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba, a baseline assessment”. Marine Pollution Bulletin. Volume 194, Part B, 2023, 115379, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115379.

  • Hoteit, I., Abualnaja, Y., Afzal, S., Ait-El-Fquih, B., Akylas, T., Antony, C., Dawson, C., et al. “Towards an End-to-End Analysis and Prediction System for Weather, Climate, and Marine Applications in the Red Sea”. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 1-61. https://doi.org/10.1175/bams-d-19-0005.1, 2021.

  • James H. Churchill, Yasser O. Abualnaja, Mohammedali Nellayaputhenpeedika and Richard Limeburner. “The Dynamics of Weather-band Sea Level Variations in the Red Sea”. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rsma.2018.09.006. Regional Studies in Marine Science, 24, 336–342, 2018.

  • Abualnaja Y. O., Vassilis P. Papadopoulos and Simon A. Josey, H. Kontoyiannis, D. E. Raitsos and I. Hoteit, “Impacts of Climate Modes on Air–Sea Heat Exchange in the Red Sea”. Journal of Climate, Vol. 28, No. 7. 2665-2681, 2015.