With a rapidly changing climate and the growing challenges it brings, the need to understand fundamental oceanic and turbulent processes has never been more urgent. Shorelines and marine installations, particularly offshore renewable energy facilities, are increasingly threatened by coastal erosion, sea-level rise, stronger storms, and evolving wave dynamics. These changes demand a robust scientific response grounded in a deeper understanding of the physical processes that govern the ocean.

The goal of this workshop is to foster collaboration across the many interconnected fields that contribute to our understanding of ocean dynamics and turbulence. By bringing together researchers from diverse backgrounds, we aim to identify the most pressing scientific and engineering questions and to develop innovative, cross-disciplinary solutions. This collaborative approach is essential not only for advancing our fundamental knowledge, but also for translating scientific insights into practical tools that inform policy, strengthen coastal resilience, and support the development of sustainable marine technologies.

By integrating perspectives from both theoretical and applied sciences, we hope to reveal new insights into the complex interactions among wind, waves, currents, and built structures in the marine environment. These interactions are central to the safe and efficient design of marine infrastructure, including offshore wind farms, tidal energy systems, and coastal protection schemes. Turbulence plays a particularly critical role, influencing the forces on submerged and surface-piercing structures as well as the transport of heat, nutrients, sediments, and pollutants throughout the ocean.

This workshop also places strong emphasis on advancing measurement techniques, numerical modeling approaches, and data-analysis tools capable of bridging the gap between small-scale turbulent processes and large-scale ocean behavior. By uniting traditionally separate research communities, we aim to cultivate an environment where new ideas can emerge, collaborations can flourish, and innovative solutions to today’s marine challenges can be developed more rapidly.

Workshop website:  https://www.oist.jp/conference/ocean-dynamics-and-turbulence

OIST is deeply committed to the advancement of women in science, in Japan and worldwide. Women are strongly encouraged to apply.