Kaushal Gianchandani
NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP) Fellow at Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS)
I am an oceanographer by training and currently an NPP Fellow at GISS.
My research examines how ocean circulation shapes climate on Earth and on other ocean worlds. I currently model the subsurface oceans of Europa and Enceladus to study how material released at the seafloor, including potential biosignatures, moves through these oceans toward locations that a spacecraft may observe.
I earned my PhD from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where I studied ocean circulation during Neoproterozoic "Snowball Earth" events and the Cretaceous greenhouse climate.
Research
View research →Icy moon oceans
How turbulent circulation moves heat and seafloor-derived material through oceans beneath the ice shells of Europa and Enceladus.
Neoproterozoic Snowball Earth oceans
How ocean circulation and biogeochemistry can reproduce iron-deposition patterns during Neoproterozoic Snowball Earth events.
Dynamic controls on surface ocean circulation
How ocean-basin geometry influences western boundary currents, heat transport, and climate.