26/04/2026
Gregory Crawford, Ontario Tech University:
"Air-Sea Interaction: A View from the Other Side".
Thursday 30 April 2026 - 14:30 (UTC+2)
Environmental Meteorology and Climate Physics Seminar
Lecture Room 1P - DICAM - University of Trento, Via Mesiano 77, Trento
and
online: https://unitn.zoom.us/j/84256728762 (Meeting ID: 842 5672 8762, Passcode: please e-mail [email protected])
Abstract
Interactions across the air-sea interface are important for both atmosphere and ocean conditions and dynamics, including fluxes of mechanical energy and momentum, heat, water, and gases. In his 45 year career as a physical oceanographer (minus some years “lost” in higher education administration), the speaker has been involved in a number of pure and applied research projects that have involved assessing the upper ocean response to atmospheric forcing. In this talk, he will touch on a number of these studies, including: (1) acoustic remote sensing of gas exchange via gas bubbles, observed from a US Navy research submarine; (2) how winds that rotate locally in sync with inertial rotation, even for a few hours, can mix efficiently (and temporarily delay “access” to some of the heat stored in the upper ocean); (3) the creation of an ocean wave hazard prediction scheme for one of the most dangerous harbour entrances on the Pacific coast of North America. If time permits, he will also discuss some climatological analyses of oceanic conditions (including wind-driven upwelling) off the Pacific coast of Panama, based on historical satellite data. (Oh, and there may be a few stories as well.)
Bio
Dr. Crawford is a Professor of Physics at Ontario Tech University in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. He obtained his B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Physics at the University of Victoria, Canada and his Ph.D. in Oceanography from the University of British Columbia, Canada (joint with NCAR, in Boulder, Colorado, USA). He worked for two years at the Wave Propagation Lab of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Colorado on developing methods for ocean acoustic remote sensing. He did also postdoctoral work at Oregon State University, focusing on Crater Lake. He spent 12 years as a professor at Humboldt State University in California, helping (among other things) to establish the Central and Northern California Ocean Observing System, CENCOOS (www.cencoos.org), then returned to Canada to become the Dean of Science and Technology at Vancouver Island University and then Dean of Science at Ontario Tech. He completed his decanal role in 2024, at which point he rejoined the professoriate.
A physical oceanographer by training, he has over four decades of experience in research and higher education in Canada, the US, and Panama. He works with universities, government agencies at all levels, and local communities. He has expertise in basic and applied research, including air-sea interaction, mixing, ocean observing systems, interdisciplinary projects, science in support of resource management and public safety, and the development and application of ocean remote sensing technologies. His current research projects include analyzing tsunami observations in northern California and revisiting thermobaric mixing processes in deep lakes like Crater Lake, Oregon.
Disclaimer
This series of seminars is primarily targeted to Students attending the double-degree MSc Programme in Environmental Meteorology and Climate Physics, jointly offered by the Universities of Trento and Innsbruck (https://corsi.unitn.it/en/environmental-meteorology-and-climate-physics). However, all those who are interested are more than welcome to join!
If you got this message from another party than the original sender (Lorenzo Giovannini) and would like to sign up for future announcements, please e-mail [email protected].
