John Luick
Physical Oceanographer
Areas of expertise:
Analysis and modelling of ocean circulation, waves, and tides.
Countries of work experience:
Australia, USA, Philippines, Malaysia, India, Indonesia, Pacific Islands
Experience and qualifications:
John has over twenty years experience in projects related to ocean monitoring, tidal analysis, and hydrodynamic modelling. He has numerous publications and technical reports as well as wide experience in teaching, consulting, and shipboard observations.
Since joining SARDI in mid-2007, he has been involved with the new Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) network as well as two other ongoing projects: Risk and Response, and Environmental Variability. The latter two are SARDI projects concerned with how environmental factors influence marine life and biological productivity. IMOS is a national program for monitoring Australia’s coastal seas and the exchange of nutrients and water properties across the shelf.
His diverse background includes several years in north Queensland modelling residence times in the Great Barrier Reef lagoon, half a year each in Canberra and India modelling coastal freshwater aquifers, and a similar amount of time in Alaska co-authoring a book on tides. His previous shipboard research has taken him on two long expeditions through the islands of Indonesia and The Philippines, several crossings of the Tasman Sea, and over a dozen cruises in the Gulf of Alaska. He has also conducted workshops in nine different Pacific Island nations as part of an AusAID program designed to promote local environmental management. However, his most extensive experience is with the analysis of tides and sea level, gained over his years with the National Tidal Facility (Flinders University) in Adelaide.
Professional appointments:
2007-present: Oceanographer, SARDI
2005-2007: Senior Research Fellow and Lecturer, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland
1993-2005: Oceanographer, Flinders University (National Tidal Facility)
Selected recent publications:
Hinwood, J., and Luick, J.L. (submitted) Closed basin modes of a dual basin harbour. Coastal Engineering.
Luick (2008) Review of “Ebb and Flow – Tides and Life on our Once and Future Planet”. Oceanography, pp 77-78.
Herzfeld, M., J.F. Middleton, J.R. Andrewartha, J. Luick, and L. Wu (2008) Numerical hydrodynamic Modelling of Boston Bay, Spencer Gulf. FinFish Cooperative Research Centre, 117 pages
Luick, J.L. and J.B. Hinwood (2008) Water levels in a dual basin harbour in response to infragravity and edge waves. Progress in Oceanography. doi:10.1016/j.pocean.2006.04.002.
Luick, J.L., Mason, L.B., Hardy, T., and Furnas, M. (2007) Circulation in the Great Barrier Reef Lagoon using numerical tracers and in situ data. Ctl Shelf Res., 27, 757-778.
Kumar, V., and J.L. Luick (2004) Effect of various parameters on the size of freshwater lens in Home Island. J. of Applied Hydrology, Vol. 17, No. 1, pp. 69-78
Luick (2004) Thistle Island tidal and storm currents.
Luick, J. (2004) Australian Tidal Handbook. Bureau of Meteorology, National Tidal Centre, 104 pages.
Luick, J. (2004) Australian Tides Manual. Intergovernmental Committee on Surveying and Mapping, Permanent Committee on Tides and Mean Sea Level, Woolongong. www.icsm.gov.au/icsm/tides/SP9/SP920041116.html
Unnikrishnan, A.S., and J. Luick (2003) A finite element simulation of tidal circulation in the Gulf of Kutch, India. Estuarine, Coastal, and Shelf Science, vol. 56, pages 131-138. doi:10.1016/S0272-7714(02)00135-X.
Luick (2003) The oceanographic argument for continued support of the Solomon Islands Seaframe.
Luick, J. (2002) Ocean currents in the vicinity of Trinidad and Tobago.
Luick, J. (2002) Pacific Country Report for Tuvalu (2002). (a survey of the climate, oceanography, sea level variations, and extreme events for Tuvalu). National Tidal Facility. (NOTE: Similar reports written for Tonga, Niue, Cook Islands, Fiji, Samoa, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Nauru, Kiribati, PNG, Marshall Islands, FSM, and Palau.)
Anonymous (2002) Equipment Replacement Strategy for the South Pacific Sea Level and Climate Monitoring Project. Client Report to AusAID.
Anonymous (2002) “Monitoring Sea Level Trends – a Decade of Excellence”. South Pacific Sea Level and Climate Monitoring Project Newsletter #1.
Anonymous (2002) Fleurieu Peninsula artificial reef project tidal and wind-driven current assessment.
Luick, J.L. (2002) Introduction to Tidal Theory. Short Course prepared for the PCTMSL Workshop on Tides, October 2002.
Anonymous (2002) Tsunamis. Information flyer for the South Pacific Sea Level and Climate Monitoring Project. 4 pages.
Anonymous (2002) “Country Reports presented to Delegates of South Pacific Forum”. South Pacific Sea Level and Climate Monitoring Project Newsletter #2.
Luick, J.L. (2002) Analysis of sea level and wind stress curl in the Tuvalu region of the South Pacific during the 1997/1998 El Niņo. J. of Geophys. Res. 107(C11), 3201, doi:10.1029/2001JC001080.
Luick, J. (2001) An Evaluation of Sea Level and Wind Stress Variations during the 1997/1998 El Niņo using the NOAA Ocean Analysis System. Proceedings, Pacific Islands Conference on Climate Change, Climate Variability, and Sea Level Rise, Rarotonga, Cook Islands, 3-7 April 2000, edited by M. Grzschnik, National Tidal Facility.
Scherer, W., and Luick, J. (2001) The need for absolute sea level. Proceedings, Pacific Islands Conference on Climate Change, Climate Variability, and Sea Level Rise, Rarotonga, Cook Islands, 3-7 April 2000, edited by M. Grzschnik.
Luick, J. (2001) A review of the physical oceanography of Astrolabe Bay and coastal northeast PNG with reference to proposed submarine discharge of mine wastes.
Luick, J., (2001) An analysis of variance in Pacific tide gauge data, Part 1: Comparison of collocated gauges. Part 2: Low frequency variability at Rarotonga and Nuku’alofa. Sea-Level Changes and Their Effects, World Scientific Singapore. ISBN 981-02-3618-2.
Luick, J., and G.R. Cresswell (2001) Current measurements in the Maluku Sea, J. of Geophys. Res., 106, 13,953 – 13,958.
Cresswell, G.R., and J. Luick (2001) Current measurements in the Halmahera Sea, J. of Geophys. Res., 106, 13,945 – 13,951.
Hinwood, J., and J. Luick (2001) Long period waves in an island reef harbour. Coral Reefs, 20, 423 - 432.
Luick, J. (2000) Western Australian Sea Level due to Tides, Weather, and Extreme Events. Report to the WA Department of Transport.
Luick, J.L. and R.F. Henry (2000) Tides in the Tongan region of the Pacific Ocean. Marine Geodesy 23, No. 1, pages 17-30.Luick, J., (2000) Seasonal and interannual sea levels in the western Equatorial Pacific from Topex/Poseidon. J. of Climate, 13, No. 3, 672-676.
Editor, The Quarterly Newsletter of the South Pacific Sea Level and Climate Monitoring Project, published by National Tidal Facility Australia (1999-2001).
Editor, Monthly Data Reports of the South Pacific Sea Level and Climate Monitoring Project, published by National Tidal Facility Australia (responsible for both editing and interpretation of data in the context of climate variability).
Research Projects
For an overview of the Subprogram’s activities, including a list of current and past research projects, please visit SARDI's website
Contact:
Dr John Luick
Tel: 08 8207 5430
Fax: 08 8207 5481
E-mail: luick.john@saugov.sa.gov.au