Environmental Fluid Dynamics is concerned with natural fluid systems, such as those found in meteorology, hydrology, hydraulics, limnology, and oceanography. Significant work in this area relates to the Marine environment, with the University of Edinburgh’s leading research into marine renewable energy and coastal management. The university has a close link with the world class ocean research facility FloWave TT who regularly host researchers from the University.

We use numerical, experimental and analytical tools for research at both micro and on a global scale in areas such as resource and impact assessment, device modelling, and sedimentation or particle transport and dispersion in the atmosphere, in water and in building and industry.

Research in this area includes:

• High-order diffusive mechanisms in gas kinetic theory  (e.g. Professor Jason Reese)
• All material fluxes in rivers, evolution of river deltas and relationships with runoff and sediment load, and environmental impact assessment (e.g. Professor Alistair Borthwick)
• Transport and mixing in turbulent flows such as advection-condensation of water vapour (e.g. Professor Jacques Vanneste)
• Nonlinear waves in meteorology and oceanography (e.g. Professor Noel Smyth)
• High resolution numerical modelling of ocean dynamics, such as the wave-turbulence-mean flow interaction in the Antarctic circumpolar current (e.g. Dr James Maddison)
• Modelling of glacial retreat, such as that predicted of the Smith, Pope and Kohler Glaciers (e.g. Dr Daniel Goldberg)
• Wave and tidal resource assessment and environmental impact modelling (e.g. Professor Alistair Borthwick  and Dr Vengatesan Venugopal)
• Flood risk (e.g. Dr Tom Bruce and Prof. Alistair Borthwick)
• Unsteady loadings in turbulent flow conditions on immersed bodies such as tidal turbine blades and yacht sails (e.g. Dr Ignazio Maria Viola)

People working in Marine and Environmental Fluid Dynamics

Click here to see our people working in the area of Marine and Environmental Fluid Dynamics