Donglai Gong

Education

• 2010Ph.D., Oceanography, Rutgers University, Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences
• 2004M.S., Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• 2001B.S. Physics & B.A. Mathematics, Rutgers University

Appointments

• 2019—presentAssociate Professor, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, William & Mary
• 2015—presentGuest Investigator, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
• 2012—2019Assistant Professor, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, William & Mary
• 2012Postdoctoral Investigator, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
• 2010—2012Postdoctoral Scholar, Ocean and Climate Change Institute, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Honors & awards

• 2015Elsevier Reviewer Recognition, Continental Shelf Research
• 2010WHOI Ocean and Climate Change Institute Postdoctoral Scholar

Research funding

Award titles, sponsors, and roles; amounts omitted online.

• 2021—2026MARACOOS — Powering Understanding and Prediction of the Mid-Atlantic Ocean, Coast, and Estuaries. NOAA — VIMS subcontract co-PI.
• 2021—2025ONR NORSE DRI: Investigation of Upper Ocean Submesoscale Dynamics in the Nordic Seas through Glider-based ADCP & Microstructure Observations. Office of Naval Research — VIMS PI (with co-PI L. Ferris).
• 2021—2025ONR TFO: Predictions of AcousticS with Smart Experimental Networks of GlidERS (PASSENGERS). Office of Naval Research — VIMS PI.
• 2022—2024IOOS Disaster Supplemental: Accelerate Improvements in Hurricane Intensity Forecasting Through Underwater Glider Field Campaigns. NOAA — VIMS PI.
• 2020—2022Mid-Atlantic Gliders Supporting Hurricane Intensity Forecasts. NOAA — VIMS PI.
• 2020—2022Sustained Ocean Observations with Underwater Gliders in the Mid-Atlantic Bight. NOAA — VIMS subcontract PI.
• 2019—2022Predicting where the fishes are in the ocean using Machine Learning. Microsoft — Lead PI.
• 2016—2022MARACOOS — Preparing for a Changing Mid-Atlantic. NOAA — VIMS subcontract PI (lead S. Glenn, Rutgers).
• 2020—2021Shallow Water Dredging Year 2. Middle Peninsula Planning Authority — co-PI (lead D. Milligan).
• 2019—2021Sustained Ocean Observations with Underwater Gliders in Support of Hurricane Intensity Forecasts. NOAA — VIMS subcontract PI.
• 2017—2020Northwest Passage Project. Heising-Simons Foundation — VIMS subcontract PI (lead G. Scowcroft, URI).
• 2014—2020Marine Arctic Ecosystem Study (MARES) — Ecosystem Dynamics and Monitoring of the Beaufort Sea. DOI Bureau of Ocean Energy Management — VIMS subcontract PI (lead F. Wiese, Stantec).
• 2018—2019Hyperspectral Drone Imaging System. VIMS ETF — Lead PI.
• 2018US GO-SHIP S04P. NSF / Scripps Institution of Oceanography — VIMS subcontract PI (lead J. Swift, SIO).
• 2017—2018Laboratory Analysis of Chemical Herders. DOI Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement — VIMS subcontract PI (lead R. Byrne, ARA).
• 2015—2017Development of acoustic methods to measure oil droplet size and slick thickness on ROV and AUV platforms. DOI Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement — VIMS subcontract PI (lead P. Panetta, ARA).
• 2014—2016Assessing the impact of stormwater runoff on Chesapeake Bay water quality. Dominion Foundation — Lead PI.
• 2011—2016Towards a Comprehensive Mid-Atlantic Regional Association Coastal Ocean Observing System (MARACOOS). NOAA / Rutgers University — VIMS subcontract PI (lead S. Glenn, Rutgers).
• 2012U.S. CLIVAR Repeat Hydrography Program — Chief Scientist Cruise Support. Scripps Institution of Oceanography — co-PI (lead M. McCartney, WHOI).
• 2012Along-shelf Variability of the Western Arctic Shelfbreak Boundary Current. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution — Lead PI.
• 2010—2012WHOI Ocean and Climate Change Institute Postdoctoral Fellowship. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution — Fellow.
• 2007—2010Characterizing Mesoscale Physical Oceanography On the New Jersey Shelf: Non-Linear Internal Wave Initiative. Office of Naval Research — co-PI (lead S. Glenn, Rutgers).

Preprints

• Ferris, L. & Gong, D. (2026). Overturning instability in forced ageostrophic oceanic flows. arXiv:2605.10951. doi:10.48550/arXiv.2605.10951
• Ferris, L. & Gong, D. (2024). Damping effects of viscous dissipation on growth of symmetric instability. arXiv:2406.16818. doi:10.48550/arXiv.2406.16818

Publications

• Ferris, L., Gong, D. & Klinck, J. (2025). Topographic forcing of submesoscale instability in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. Frontiers in Marine Science, 12. doi:10.3389/fmars.2025.1612637
• Gong, D., Von Oppeln-Bronikowski, N., Ferris, L., Boone, W., Slater, J. & Bourdon, R. (2025). Next-Generation Uncrewed Surface Vehicles with Autonomous Launch and Recovery Systems for Gliders and Floats. OCEANS 2025 Brest, 01–10. doi:10.1109/oceans58557.2025.11104531
• Lefcheck, J., Orth, R., Fodrie, F., Gong, D., Faulkner, M., Laumann, K. & Patrick, C. (2024). Tropicalization of mid-western Atlantic coastal bays by pinfish Lagodon rhomboides: a combined ecological and oceanographic perspective. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 748, 137–148. doi:10.3354/meps14705
• Book, J. W., Miller, M. D., Beaird, N. L., Barron, C., Edwards, C. R., Edwards, J. R., Gong, D., Lawrence, A., Lynch, S. D., Miles, T., Osborne, J. & Slater, J. (2023). Predictions of AcousticS with Smart Experimental Networks of GlidERS (PASSENGERS). OCEANS 2023 - MTS/IEEE U.S. Gulf Coast, 1–7. doi:10.23919/oceans52994.2023.10337217
• Ferris, L., Gong, D., Merrifield, S. & Laurent, L. S. (2022). Contamination of Finescale Strain Estimates of Turbulent Kinetic Energy Dissipation by Frontal Physics. Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology, 39, 619–640. doi:10.1175/jtech-d-21-0088.1
• Ferris, L., Gong, D., Clayson, C. A., Merrifield, S., Shroyer, E. L., Smith, M. & Laurent, L. S. (2022). Shear Turbulence in the High-Wind Southern Ocean Using Direct Measurements. Journal of Physical Oceanography, 52, 2325–2341. doi:10.1175/jpo-d-21-0015.1
• Wang, H., Gong, D., Friedrichs, M. A. M., Harris, C. K., Miles, T., Yu, H. & Zhang, Y. (2022). A Cycle of Wind-Driven Canyon Upwelling and Downwelling at Wilmington Canyon and the Evolution of Canyon-Upwelled Dense Water on the MAB Shelf. Frontiers in Marine Science, 9. doi:10.3389/fmars.2022.866075
• Miles, T. N., Zhang, D., Foltz, G. R., Zhang, J. A., Meinig, C., Bringas, F., Triñanes, J., Le Hénaff, M., Aristizabal Vargas, M. F., Coakley, S., Edwards, C. R., Gong, D., Todd, R. E., Oliver, M. J., Wilson, W. D., Whilden, K., Kirkpatrick, B., Chardon-Maldonado, P., Morell, J. M., Hernandez, D., Kuska, G., Stienbarger, C. D., Bailey, K., Zhang, C., Glenn, S. M. & Goni, G. J. (2021). Uncrewed Ocean Gliders and Saildrones Support Hurricane Forecasting and Research. Oceanography, 34, 78–81. doi:10.5670/oceanog.2021.supplement.02-28
• Roarty, H., Glenn, S., Brodie, J., Nazzaro, L., Smith, M., Handel, E., Kohut, J., Updyke, T., Atkinson, L., Boicourt, W., Brown, W., Seim, H., Muglia, M., Wang, H. & Gong, D. (2020). Annual and Seasonal Surface Circulation Over the Mid-Atlantic Bight Continental Shelf Derived From a Decade of High Frequency Radar Observations. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 125. doi:10.1029/2020JC016368
• Seyler, L. M., Tuorto, S., McGuinness, L. R., Gong, D. & Kerkhof, L. J. (2019). Bacterial and Archaeal Specific-Predation in the North Atlantic Basin. Frontiers in Marine Science, 6. doi:10.3389/fmars.2019.00555
• Seyler, L. M., McGuinness, L. R., Gilbert, J. A., Biddle, J. F., Gong, D. & Kerkhof, L. J. (2018). Discerning autotrophy, mixotrophy, and heterotrophy in marine TACK archaea from the North Atlantic. FEMS Microbiology Ecology. doi:10.1093/femsec/fiy014
• Wallace, E. J., Looney, L. B. & Gong, D. (2018). Multi-Decadal Trends and Variability in Temperature and Salinity in the Mid-Atlantic Bight, Georges Bank, and Gulf of Maine. Journal of Marine Research, 76, 163–215. doi:10.1357/002224018826473281
• Wiese, F. K., Harvey, H. R., McMahon, R., Neubert, P., Gong, D., Wang, H., Hudson, J., Ross, E., Charlette, M., Fabijan, M. & Gryba, R. (2018). Marine Arctic Ecosystem Study—Biophysical and Chemical Observations From Glider and Benthic Surveys in 2016.
• Panetta, P. D., Argo, T., Du, H., Gong, D., Ferris, L. N. & Hudson, J. (2017). Development of acoustic methods to measure oil droplet size and slick thickness on ROV and AUV platforms.
• Sipler, R. E., Gong, D., Baer, S. E., Sanderson, M. P., Roberts, Q. N., Mulholland, M. R. & Bronk, D. A. (2017). Preliminary estimates of the contribution of Arctic nitrogen fixation to the global nitrogen budget. Limnology and Oceanography Letters, 2, 159–166. doi:10.1002/lol2.10046
• Gong, D. & Pickart, R. S. (2016). Early summer water mass transformation in the eastern Chukchi Sea. Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography, 130, 43–55. doi:10.1016/j.dsr2.2016.04.015
• Gong, D. & Pickart, R. S. (2015). Summertime circulation in the eastern Chukchi Sea. Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography, 118, 18–31. doi:10.1016/j.dsr2.2015.02.006
• Rona, P., Guida, V., Scranton, M., Gong, D., Macelloni, L., Pierdomenico, M., Diercks, A., Asper, V. & Haag, S. (2015). Hudson submarine canyon head offshore New York and New Jersey: A physical and geochemical investigation. Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography, 121, 213–232. doi:10.1016/j.dsr2.2015.07.019
• Xu, Y., Chant, R., Gong, D., Castelao, R., Glenn, S. & Schofield, O. (2011). Seasonal variability of chlorophyll a in the Mid-Atlantic Bight. Continental Shelf Research, 31, 1640–1650. doi:10.1016/j.csr.2011.05.019
• Gong, D., Kohut, J. T. & Glenn, S. M. (2010). Seasonal climatology of wind-driven circulation on the New Jersey Shelf. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 115. doi:10.1029/2009JC005520
• Roarty, H., Glenn, S., Kohut, J., Gong, D., Handel, E., Rivera, E., Garner, T., Atkinson, L., Brown, W., Jakubiak, C., Muglia, M., Haines, S. & Seim, H. (2010). Operation and Application of a Regional High-Frequency Radar Network in the Mid-Atlantic Bight. Marine Technology Society Journal, 44, 133–145. doi:10.4031/mtsj.44.6.5
• Schofield, O., Chant, R., Cahill, B., Castelao, R., Gong, D., Kahl, A., Kohut, J., Montes-Hugo, M., Ramadurai, R., Ramey, P., Xu, Y. & Glenn, S. (2008). The Decadal View of the Mid-Atlantic Bight from the COOLroom: Is Our Coastal System Changing?. Oceanography, 21, 108–117. doi:10.5670/oceanog.2008.08

Software

• JuliaGliderADCP.jl. Pure-Julia implementation of a glider ADCP data processing pipeline.
• JuliaSeaExplorerIO.jl. A pure-Julia data reader for SeaExplorer glider navigation and payload data.
• JuliaSlocumIO.jl. A pure-Julia reader for Slocum glider binary data — a Julia implementation of dbdreader.

Invited talks

• Mar 2026Submesoscale Dynamics and Ocean Turbulence: From Observations to Understanding. Hampton University, Department of Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Hampton, Virginia.
• Nov 2025Submesoscale Dynamics and Ocean Turbulence: Physical Mechanisms Shaping Marine Biogeochemistry. William & Mary, Department of Chemistry, Williamsburg, Virginia.
• Feb 2023Glider observations of upper ocean dynamics from the mesoscale to the microscale. Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia.
• Oct 2019Observing long-term oceanographic changes in the Mid-Atlantic Bight and in the Arctic. VIMS Department of Physical Sciences seminar, Gloucester Point, Virginia.
• Jan 2019Ocean Data Science Panel — Attracting, Training and Retaining Ocean Data Scientists. Science Philanthropy Alliance, San Francisco, California.
• Dec 2018Drivers of long term temperature and salinity changes in the Mid-Atlantic Bight. Old Dominion University, School of Oceanography, Norfolk, Virginia.
• Mar 2018Drones: A New Tool for Water Monitoring. Virginia Water Monitoring Council Conference, Henrico, Virginia.
• Oct 2017Applications of Autonomous Systems in Oceanographic Research. AUVSI Symposium, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia.
• Dec 2016Scientific Applications of AUV/ROV for Offshore Energy. VIMS–Industry Partnership Meeting, Gloucester Point, Virginia.
• Oct 2016Pacific water transport and transformation in the Chukchi Sea. Institute of Ocean Sciences, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Sidney, British Columbia.
• Apr 2016Comparing the impact of Arctic and Mid-Atlantic submarine canyons on shelf-basin exchange. CCPO/MARI seminar series, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia.
• Jul 2015Application of ocean gliders and sustainable robotic ocean exploration. Ocean University of China & Sencott, Qingdao, China.
• Nov 2014Impact of Climate Variability on the Mid-Atlantic Bight. VIMS Department of Physical Sciences seminar, Gloucester Point, Virginia.
• Feb 2013Applications of technologies for observations of physical oceanography in the Mid-Atlantic Bight. VIMS Department of Physical Sciences seminar, Gloucester Point, Virginia.
• May 2012Summertime Circulation and Water Mass Transformation in the Chukchi Sea. Coastal Carolina University, Conway, South Carolina.
• Mar 2011Summertime evolution of the shelf-slope front and the associated secondary circulation. WHOI Department of Physical Oceanography seminar, Woods Hole, Massachusetts.
• Jul 2010Summer-time shelf-slope exchange processes on the New Jersey Shelf. NOAA Sandy Hook Laboratory, Sandy Hook, New Jersey.
• Jan 2010Seasonal transport and cross-shelf exchange processes on the New Jersey Shelf. WHOI Department of Applied Ocean Physics & Engineering seminar, Woods Hole, Massachusetts.

Selected presentations (2020—present)

53 contributed conference and workshop presentations —full list.

• Feb 2026R. Bourdon, D. Gong & L. Ferris. Underwater Glider Observations of Submesoscale Frontogenesis at the Arctic Front Near Jan Mayen. Ocean Sciences Meeting.
• Feb 2026D. Gong, N. von Oppeln-Bronikowski, J. Shapiro, D. Wilson, J. Slater, L. Ferris, W. Boone, P. Brickley & C. Richards. Design and Operational Considerations for USV-based Autonomous Launch and Recovery System (ALARS) for Glider UUVs and Floats. Ocean Sciences Meeting.
• Feb 2026J. Slater, W. Harris, D. Gong & Y.-T. Lin. Acoustic Source Localization by an Underwater Glider in a Bathymetrically Complex Seamount Region Using Data-Assimilative Range-Dependent Sound Speed Profiles. Ocean Sciences Meeting.
• Dec 2025J. Slater, D. Gong, Y.-T. Lin & W. R. Harris. Model-informed acoustic source localization by an underwater glider in a bathymetrically complex seamount region with Gulf Stream influence. 189th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, Honolulu, Hawaii.
• Jun 2025D. Gong, N. von Oppeln-Bronikowski, L. Ferris, W. Boone, J. Slater & R. Bourdon. Next-Generation Uncrewed Surface Vehicles with Autonomous Launch and Recovery Systems for Gliders and Floats. OCEANS 2025, Brest, France.
• Jun 2024D. Gong, L. Ferris, R. Bourdon, J. Slater & N. Trenholm. Microstructure turbulence, ADCP, and passive acoustic observations in the Nordic Seas using underwater gliders. International Underwater Glider Conference (EGO).
• Feb 2024L. Ferris, J. Shapiro, D. Gong & L. St. Laurent. Turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rate estimated from flight kinematics of autonomous underwater gliders downstream of the Northern Mariana Islands and Jan Mayen volcano. Ocean Sciences Meeting, New Orleans, Louisiana.
• Feb 2024D. Gong, L. Ferris, J. Slater & R. Bourdon. Collocated observations of upper ocean mixing and currents in the Nordic Seas by an autonomous glider with near-realtime ADCP and microstructure processing. Ocean Sciences Meeting, New Orleans, Louisiana.
• Dec 2022G. Kirkpatrick & D. Gong. Quantifying Errors Within Data-Assimilative Global Ocean Models Using Glider Data From The Mid-Atlantic Bight Slope Sea. AGU Fall Meeting, Chicago, Illinois.
• Sep 2022D. Gong. Reimagining Glider and Float Mission Logistics — How to Scale the Next Order of Magnitude for Deployments?. UG2 Underwater Glider User Group Workshop, Seattle, Washington.
• Sep 2022D. Gong. The Autonomous Mission Sentinel: Fast, cost-effective, autonomous sailing glider deployment and recovery vessel. UG2 Underwater Glider User Group Workshop, Seattle, Washington.
• Feb 2022H. Wang, D. Gong, J. Kerfoot, T. Miles, M. Crowley, O. Schofield & S. Glenn. Improved thermal lag correction for pumped glider CTD. Ocean Sciences Meeting.
• Feb 2020L. Ferris, D. Gong, T. Ijichi, S. Merrifield, J. Shapiro & L. St. Laurent. Turbulent Dissipation Rate and Mixing Variations in the Polar Front of the Southern Ocean. Ocean Sciences Meeting, San Diego, California.
• Feb 2020H. Wang, D. Gong, H.-C. Yu, Y. J. Zhang, C. K. Harris, M. A. M. Friedrichs, T. N. Miles & J. Hudson. Quantifying Shelf-Basin Exchange at Submarine Canyons in the southern Middle Atlantic Bight using data from Underwater Glider Surveys and Numerical Modeling Experiments. Ocean Sciences Meeting, San Diego, California.
• Feb 2020M. Shaban, D. Gong, N. Trenholm, K. Kopka, M. Digilio, G. Scowcroft, C. Richards, S. Nudds, D. Torres, B. Loose & D. Clark. Observations of water mass interactions and freshwater transport inside Tallurutiup Imanga — a student-led field study from the Canadian Arctic. Ocean Sciences Meeting, San Diego, California.

Graduate advising

• 2025—presentJack Slater (M.S.). Impact of submesoscale ocean processes on ocean acoustic propagation
• 2025—presentJonathan Williams (M.S.). Characterizing the impact of Mid-Atlantic Bight shelf water export on the position and orientation of the Gulf Stream
• 2023—presentRicardo Bourdon (Ph.D.). Submesoscale upper ocean dynamics and turbulent mixing
• 2022Haixing (Daniel) Wang (Postdoctoral Researcher). Submarine canyon dynamics in the Mid-Atlantic Bight
• 2017—2022Lauren (Laur) Ferris (Ph.D.). Dissertation: Across-scale Energy Transfer in the Southern Ocean
• 2016—2021Haixing (Daniel) Wang (Ph.D.). Dissertation: Impact of Canyon Upwelling and Downwelling in the Mid-Atlantic Bight
• 2013—2016Haixing (Daniel) Wang (M.S.). Thesis: On Shelf-Slope Water Mass Exchanges near Washington Canyon and Norfolk Canyon in the Mid-Atlantic Bight

Plus 25+ undergraduate researchers advised through REU, honors theses, and internships — see People.

Teaching

• 2024—presentMSCI 310/401A — Motion of the Ocean (Physical Oceanography), W&M undergraduate
• 2021—2023APSC 471/472 — Engineering Physics and Applied Design (EPAD) Capstone (co-advised)
• 2013—2023MSCI 401A/501A — Fundamentals of Marine Science, Physical Oceanography
• 2014—2018MSCI 698 graduate topics: Ocean Turbulent Mixing; Drone Applications in Marine Science; Glider Operations and Data Processing
• 2014—2015MSCI 330 — Introduction to Marine Science (co-taught)

Field experience

• 2013—presentSustained MARACOOS and hurricane-monitoring glider deployments across the Mid-Atlantic Bight
• 2022—2024NESMA / PASSENGERS glider field campaigns at the New England and Atlantis II Seamounts (ONR), from R/V Roger Revelle and S/RV Marie Tharp
• 2022—2023NORSE glider field campaigns near Jan Mayen, Nordic Seas (ONR), including R/V Kronprins Haakon
• 2018Northwest Passage Project research cruise in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago
• 2015—2016MARES glider deployments in the eastern Beaufort Sea
• 2012Co-Chief Scientist, U.S. CLIVAR A20 repeat hydrography section, R/V Atlantis
• 2012Lead PI, "Along-shelf Variability of the Western Arctic Shelfbreak Boundary Current," USCGC Healy
• 2011Arctic Observing Network North Slope mooring cruise, USCGC Healy
• 2008—2011Hudson Submarine Canyon hydrographic surveys and bathymetric mapping, NOAA Ship Henry B. Bigelow
• 2005EDDIES program cruises, R/V Oceanus

Service