Hobart

Seminar Abstract

Thursday 19 November 2009, 11.30am (Tas time)
CSIRO Auditorium, Hobart

Joerg Wolff
Professor, Physical Oceanography (Theory)    
Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment
University of Oldenburg
Germany

High resolution modelling of hydro and sediment dynamics

Over the last 8 years the area-specific hydrodynamics and the suspended particulate matter (SPM) dynamics in the East-Frisian Wadden Sea have been extensively investigated under the umbrella of the DFG Research Group on BioGeoChemistry of Tidal Flats at the University of Oldenburg. High-resolution modelling efforts for this area in combination with high-resolution measurements at the Wadden Sea time series station and novel theoretical approaches have revealed various new and exciting insights into this complex system thus significantly contributing to the current state of research.

The available suite of numerical models integrates worldwide experience with innovative concepts in numerical modelling such as state-of-the-art parameterizations of physical processes and novel concepts of suspended particulate matter transport. These models have been widely used for various research applications in the Wadden Sea and the German Bight in different horizontal resolutions. Combined with sophisticated measurements using ADCP and satellite data these models enable a reliable state estimate for hydrodynamics and sediment dynamics. The response of the Wadden Sea system to atmospheric and hydrological impacts (storms and sea-level rise) will be highlighted in this lecture along with the basic underlying physics and model details.

Biography: Professor Wolff is a theoretical oceanographer by training with expertise in geophysical fluid dynamics, atmosphere/ocean interaction, ocean circulation, theory and numerical modelling, climate physics (ocean, atmosphere, sea ice), and coastal oceanography (hydro- and sediment dynamics). After completing his PhD in Oceanography at the University of Hamburg and working at the Max-Planck Institute for Meteorology in Hamburg, Professor Wolff spend seven years with the CRC for the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Environment in Hobart. In 1999, he was appointed to the position of Professor for Physical Oceanography (Theory) at the University of Oldenburg. Professor Wolff has served for the last decade as Vice-President and President of the Germany Society for Marine Research and as a board member of the German Society of Marine Technology. He is also chief-editor of the highly successful international journal Ocean Dynamics www.springer.com/journal/10236.

Professor Wolff is currently a visiting scientist at the University of Southern Queensland. During October and November, he will continue his research collaboration with A/Professor Joachim Ribbe focusing upon the climate and dynamics of the coastal ocean off southern Queensland.

Seminar Recording

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Location:
CSIRO = Marine Laboratories Auditorium, Castray Esplanade, Hobart

For further information, or to schedule a seminar, contact:
To schedule a seminar, contact:
Clothilde Langlais, (Oceanographic seminars) CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research (03) 6232 5399
Natalie Kelly, (Biology/Modelling seminars) CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research 0438 452 483
Jillian Enraght-Moony, (seminar administrator) CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research (03) 6232 5320
Communications Manager, Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems CRC (03) 6226 2265
Margaret Hazelwood, Institute of Antarctic and Southern Ocean Studies (IASOS) University of Tasmania (03) 6226 2971

Last updated 4/12/09