Prof Herbert Huppert Lecture
- Date
- Wednesday 10 May 2023, 12pm
- Location
- Chemical and Process Engineering
Prof Herbert Huppert Lecture and Lunch
Prof Herbert Huppert from the University of Cambridge will be visiting Leeds on Wednesday 10th May. Please see the details below.
- Lecture - Chemical and Process Engineering LT A (2.23) 12pm-1pm
- Catered lunch - Chemical and Process Engineering SR (4.06) - 1pm – 2pm
The effect of surface waves over coral reefs, leading to a suggestion of how to defend against tsunamis.
Abstract:
We will discuss drift velocities, due to wave motion of fluid which overlies a saturated porous bed. The damping e„ffect of the porous bed leads to both a vertical and horizontal Stokes drift of the fluid, unlike the purely horizontal drift first derived by Stokes in 1847. This provides a physical model for coral reefs in shallow seas overlain by ocean wave propagation, where fluid drift both above and within the reef is vitally important for maintaining a healthy reef ecosystem. We will also explain, and show pictures of, the small vertical drift measurements in coral reefs, essential to the biological exchange between the coral layer and the sea above. Then, hopefully starting with a series of desk-top experiments (if equipment is available), we will indicate how these calculations and confirmatory field observations suggest a highly efficient, and not too costly, mechanism for diminishing the energy in tsunamis, and thus possibly saving both many thousands lives and many millions of dollars in damage, which could occur due to future unabated tsunami propagation.
Speaker Bio:
Herbert is an Australian fluid dynamicist who has worked in Cambridge, UK since 1968 (having initially come on a two-year post-doctoral grant; and forgot to leave !) He has worked on a series of problems in geophysically oriented fluid mechanics, including double diffusive convection in the oceans, lava flows over land, magma motion within the Earth and volcanic eruptions into the atmosphere. He has published almost 300 scientific papers in some of the best international journals worldwide, with just under 25,000 citations and an h number of 84 (according to Google Scholar). He is a Fellow of the Royal Society and won the Royal Medal in 2020. In the same year he was awarded the Scientist of the Year in Earth and Environmental Sciences. He has close research links with, and regularly visits colleagues in, Australia, China, the United States and Russia
Cambridge profile: