Susan Elizabeth Anne Wijffels (born 3 August 1965) is an Australian oceanographer employed by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI); she formerly worked from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) in Australia.[1][2] Wijffels specialises in quantifying global ocean change over the past 50 years, including its anatomy and drivers. She is recognised for her international and national leadership of the Global Ocean Observing System. She is regarded as an expert in the Indonesian Throughflow and its role in global climate.[3][4][5]

Susan Wijffels
Born
Australia
Occupation(s)senior scientist, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Known forresearch in global ocean changes
Academic background
Alma materMassachusetts Institute of Technology, Flinders University
Academic work
Disciplineoceanography
InstitutionsWoods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Education

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  • BSc (First Class Hons), Flinders University, South Australia (1986)
  • PhD Massachusetts Institute of Technology-Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program in Oceanography and Oceanographic Engineering, (1993)

Career and notable achievements

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Wijffels is a senior scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in the Physical Oceanography department.[2] Prior to joining WHOI, she worked at CSIRO.

Wijffels, in collaboration with colleagues at NASA, identified and corrected systematic biases, discovered in 70% of measurements in the Global Ocean Observing System. This led to the observation that the world's oceans have both warmed and risen at an increased rate in the past four decades.[6][7]

Wijffels has received the Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society's Priestly Medal and the Australian Academy of Science's Dorothy Hill award in recognition of her efforts to understand the role of the oceans in climate change.

In 2011 Wijffels was inducted to the Tasmanian Honour Roll of Women for service to science.

References

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  1. ^ Abraham, John (26 December 2014). "Scientists in focus – Susan Wijffels and Rebecca Cowley". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  2. ^ a b "Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution". WHOI. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  3. ^ "Australian Research Council's (ARC) Centre of Excellence for Climate System Science". www.climatescience.org.au. Archived from the original on 2 October 2012. Retrieved 16 August 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  4. ^ Abraham, John (26 December 2014). "Scientists in focus – Susan Wijffels and Rebecca Cowley". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  5. ^ "Susan Wijffels honoured with two significant science awards - monday:m@il - 15 March 2010". www.csiro.au. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  6. ^ Hannam, Peter (2 February 2015). "Southern oceans play major role in absorbing world's excess heat, study finds". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  7. ^ "2018 was the ocean's hottest year. We'll feel it a long time". National Geographic. 16 January 2019. Archived from the original on 16 January 2019. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
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