Assoc Prof John Middleton

Contact Details (SAIMOS)

Context

John Middleton (Physical Oceanographer) holds the position of Associate Professor within the School although he is employed full-time through the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI). At SARDI, he leads the multi-disciplinary Oceanography Program, which is made up of several joint appointments between SARDI Aquatic Sciences and the School of Biological Sciences. A major initiative of the School and SARDI is the installation of over $5M of equipment, that forms part of the Southern Australian Integrated Marine Observing System (SAIMOS).

Key Responsibilities

• Member of the marine/aquaculture cluster within the School
• Leader of the SARDI Oceanography Program
• Facility Leader of the SAIMOS Moorings and HF Ocean RADAR

Research

Over the last two decades, John's research has focused on understanding the weather-band ocean circulation over continental shelves. Particular areas of study involve the generation and scattering of coastal-trapped waves by variations in shelf geometry, and by large sea straits as typified by Bass Strait. Indeed, a reasonably complete scattering theory has been developed for sea straits, and numerical models developed to describe the circulation for the Bass Strait region. Through numerical model development and analyses of data, he has also made substantial advances in understanding the circulation along Australia ’s continental southern shelves and the upwelling system off South Australia . Highlights include advances in understanding the fundamental processes of upwelling, the identification of the Flinders Current as a small sister to the world’s great western boundary currents, and the determination that El Nino signals have led to more effective upwelling off S.A.

Click on this link for more on John’s research – capability statement

Click on this link for information on Circulation along Australia's Southern Shelves.

Projects

Student and Research projects (pdf)

The projects listed in the link above are motivated by a need to better understand and quantify the ocean circulation, dynamics and impact on marine ecological systems, fisheries, aquaculture and the spread of marine pests along Australia ’s southern shelves. Our focus is on waters between Esperance and Bass Strait including the S.A. Gulfs.  Projects range from theoretical studies of ocean circulation and ecosystem response using mathematical and numerical models to real world applications including the flushing of aquaculture pens, the dispersal of prawn larvae and spread of marine pests. Enormous opportunities exist over the next four years with the advent of data streams from the $6M S.A. Integrated Marine Observing System (SAIMOS). These data will underpin many of the proposed studies and provide students with training in field based oceanography and use of cutting edge technologies that are described above.

See Research Projects (recent and underway)

See publication list

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