Brian Arbic is a physical oceanographer. He is primarily interested in the dynamics and energy budgets of the eddying oceanic general circulation, and global modeling of internal tides and the internal gravity wave continuum spectrum. He has also studied paleotides, tsunamis, and the decadal variability of subsurface ocean temperatures and salinities. His primary tools are numerical models of the ocean. He uses both realistic models, such as the HYbrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM) being used as a U.S. Navy ocean forecast model, and idealized models. He frequently compares the outputs of such models to oceanic observations, taken with a variety of instruments. Comparison of models and observations helps us to improve our models as well as our ideas about how the ocean works. His research has often been interdisciplinary, involving collaborations with scientists outside of his discipline, such as glaciologists, geodynamicists, and marine geophysicists.