I am currently a Ramón y Cajal with double affiliation (IMEDEA / UIB, Mallorca, SPAIN) since summer 2022. Previously, I have been a Senior Research Associate at Oregon State University, in the CEOAS department since 2010. I got my Phd from Georgia Tech (Atlanta) in 2010 and an engineering degree in Hydraulics from the ENSEEIHT (France) in 2005.
I am specialized in modeling realistic ocean flows in regional and coastal seas including the Gulf of Alaska, California Current, Peru Chile Current system, Patagonian shelf and Southeast Atlantic. I am particularly interested in the low frequency ocean variability, coastal and shelfbreak upwellings, eddy dynamics, transport of nutrient rich shelf water to the deep ocean and remote sensing. Recently, I have also been working on physical-biological interactions of the Southwest Atlantic, a project that aims to better understand and assess the sources of the limiting factor to phytoplankton growth: iron.

For more information see my list of publications and C.V.

[40] Meerhoff, E., Combes, V., Matano, R., Barrier, N., Franco, B.C., Piola, A.R., Hernández-Vaca, F., Defeo, O. (2025). Effects of regional oceanography and climate variability on larval connectivity of the wedge clam Donax hanleyanus in South American beaches. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2025.109346. Link

Abstract: The wedge clam, Donax hanleyanus, inhabits sandy beaches in the subtropical and temperate regions of the Atlantic coast of South America. Its distribution spans over 20 degrees of latitude from Brazil to Argentina, with the southernmost part of its range being influenced by the Rio de la Plata (RdlP) estuary, which limits the southward larval expansion. We used an individual-based model (IBM) to assess the larval connectivity patterns of the wedge clam during the period 2000-2012. The IBM combines a 3D hydrodynamic model with a biological sub-model that considers larval mortality due to low salinity (< 7, and > 9) and sea surface temperature range (high > 30°C or low < 9°C). The main larval connectivity patterns were observed near the release/recruitment areas, suggesting a high potential for self-recruitment. Based on the IBM and adult abundance data, we also identified the likely source and sink areas within this metapopulation. Source beach areas were Navegantes and Cassino in Brazil (from 26.3° S to 34.34°S), Arachania in Uruguay (34.56°S), and Santa Teresita in Argentina (37.15°S). A low probability of larval transport towards the poleward limit of the species' distribution was observed, supporting an irregular recruitment pattern typical of sink populations located at the edge of the distribution range of metapopulations. Larval mortality due to warm or cold waters did not affect connectivity patterns for this subtropical species. Southward larval transport across the RdlP estuary (from Uruguayan to Argentine beaches) only occurred for larvae released on early January 2011, concurrently with the strongest La Niña year observed during the study period. In light of a changing climate, marked by potential increases in extreme La Niña events and a poleward shift of atmospheric circulation patterns over the South Atlantic, we anticipate a strengthening of larval transport across the RdlP and a subsequent poleward expansion of the species’ distribution range.

[39] Matano, R. P., Combes, V., Palma, E. D., & Strub, P. T. (2025). Circulation and cross‐shelf exchanges in the Agulhas Bank Region. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 130, e2023JC020234. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023JC020234 Link [PDF]

Abstract: This modeling study analyzes the circulation over the AgulhasBank (AB). It is suggested that the time mean circulation over the bank is primarily driven by the inflow of shelf waters from the northeastern region, and not by local forcing as previously postulated. Seasonal variations of the circulation and temperature and salinity fields are highly correlated with the atmospheric forcing. Currents shift inshore during the winter, returning to its original position during summer. The equatorward flow in the western AB, which includes a deep, previously unreported, countercurrent, strengthens during spring and summer and wanes during fall and winter. Tracer diagnostics and Eulerian mass balances reveal very energetics mass exchanges between the eastern AB and the Agulhas Current (AC). The AB Bight is the preferential site for these exchanges. Lagrangian diagnostic show 0.45 Sv of deep open‐ocean waters entrained into the bottom layer of the shelf. Cross‐shelf exchanges produce significant water mass transformations. Tides play an unexpectedly significant role on the AB circulation. Preliminary considerations suggest that shelf/open‐ocean interactions could have a significant impact on water mass conversions within the AC.

[38] A.R. Piola, N. Bodnariuk, V. Combes, B.C. Franco, R.P. Matano, E.D. Palma, S.I. Romero, M. Saraceno, and M.M. Urricariet (2024). Anatomy and Dynamics of the Patagonia Shelf-Break Front. In: Acha, E.M., Iribarne, O.O., Piola, A. (eds) The Patagonian Shelfbreak Front. Aquatic Ecology Series, vol 13. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-71190-9_2 Link

Abstract: The Patagonia shelf-break front presents sharp offshore changes in surface temperature, salinity, chlorophyll, and horizontal velocity shear. In summer, the cross-shore temperature and salinity changes are not uniform, suggesting the existence of multiple fronts. In winter, the offshore changes are fairly uniform, displaying a single thermohaline front located just offshore from the shelf-break. Cross-front temperature and salinity present significant seasonal variations associated with intense vertical stratification over the shelf during summer. The thermocline provides a density interval for cross-front isopycnal exchange, which may fertilize the outer shelf waters. The salinity front extends from the surface to the bottom and is observed year-round. Frontal displacements occur throughout the water column. The high surface chlorophyll along the front suggests a sustained nutrient flux to the shelf-break upper layer. Numerical experiments indicate intense frontal upwelling mediated by the interaction of the Malvinas Current with the bottom topography and suggest that upwelling in upstream portions of the shelf-break, advected northward along the shelf edge, may further modulate the nutrient fluxes required to sustain frontal productivity. A southward displacement of the northernmost extension of the front observed during the past decades may have biological and biogeochemical impacts.