Alexander Thompson (b. 1980) is an American physical oceanographer and science communicator whose research focuses on light–ice interactions and ocean optics. He earned a B.S. in physics from the University of Washington and a Ph.D. in oceanography from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, where he studied radiative transfer in polar seas. Thompson has led field campaigns in McMurdo Sound and the Fram Strait, developing hyperspectral instruments for ships and sea ice. He is an associate professor of marine physics and a frequent contributor to national science magazines. When not at sea, he mentors early-career researchers and photographs coastal light phenomena near his home in Seattle.
