Charles James
Physical Oceanographer
Areas of expertise:
Geophysical Fluid Dynamics, Numerical Modelling, Research Mooring Design, Computer Programming and Data Analysis
Countries of work experience:
Australia, United States, Japan.
Experience and qualifications:
Charles is a Physical Oceanographer with over 15 years of experience in environmental physics and Earth sciences. He is also a highly experienced computer programmer, having worked at one time or another with most of the popular programming languages. In addition, he has worked with a variety of numerical simulations of geophysical phenomena including atmospheric and oceanic numerical models. As part of his work, he has also participated in a numerous research cruises, conducting surveys in regions as diverse as the Gulf of Mexico, the East China Sea, and the Great Australian Bight.
In 1996 he completed his PhD in Physical Oceanography at the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography. His dissertation included both a numerical simulation and observational study of meanders in the Kuroshio current. Prior to receiving his PhD, he worked at the United States Environmental Protection Agency Labs in Narragansett, Rhode Island studying and producing reports on the PCB contamination of urbanized estuaries in Massachusetts.
After finishing 5 years as a post–doctoral fellow at Flinders University studying the sub–tropical front south of Australia, Charles worked at the University of Adelaide as an Associate Lecturer in Physics. Working within the Atmospheric Physics group, Charles was responsible for implementing a parallel version of the MM5 atmospheric model and designing interactive computer simulations of practicals for first year students.
Since 2007 Charles has worked through a joint appointment between the national Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) and SARDI within the Oceanography sub–program/program. Charles has worked within the Environment and Ecology program analysing environmental influences on fisheries recruitment for a variety of fish species. He has also been a part of the team responsible for the design, budgeting and implementation of the observation mooring program and oceanic survey for the Southern Australian node of IMOS.
Professional appointments:
2007–Present: Physical Oceanographer, South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI)
2002–2007: Associate Lecturer in Physics, University of Adelaide
1997–2002: Post–doctoral Fellow, Flinders University of South Australia
1992–1996: Research Assistant and Teaching Assistant, University of Rhode Island
1990–1992: Computer Technician, Science Applications International Corporation, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Labs Narragansett, Rhode Island.
Selected recent publications:
2002 Summer and Winter Surveys of The Subtropical Front of the South Eastern Indian Ocean 1997–1998. Charles James, Matthias Tomczak, Ian Helmond and Lindsay Pender, Journal of Marine Systems–Special Issue on Physics and Biology of Ocean Fronts, 37, pp 129–149.
1999 Kuroshio Meanders in the East China Sea. Charles James, Mark Wimbush, and Hiroshi Ichikawa, Journal of Physical Oceanography, 51, pp 259–272.
1995 Inferring Dynamic Height from Acoustic Travel Time in the Pacific Ocean. Charles James and Mark Wimbush, Journal of Oceanography, 29, pp 553–569.
1991 Development and Validation of Methods for Real–Time Measurements of Pollutant Transport from an Urbanized Estuary. Gregory A. Tracey, Charles James, Gerald Hatcher, and William Nelson, IEEE Oceans 1991, pp 501–508.
Research Projects:
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Effects of environmental variability on recruitment to South Australian fisheries.
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Biogeochemical modelling of the South Australian Gulfs
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Hydrographic surveys of the summer upwelling North–West of du Couedic Canyon
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Implementation of the South Australian Integrated Marine Observation System (SAIMOS)
Contact:
Dr. Charles James
SARDI Aquatic Sciences
Tel: 08 8207 5320
Fax: 08 8207 5481
Email: James.Charles@saugov.sa.gov.au