Associate Professor Jochen Kaempf

Calculated based on number of publications stored in Pure and citations from Scopus
1997 …2026

Research activity per year

Personal profile

Research Biography

Jochen Kaempf is a passionate physical oceanographer with over 20 years of professional experience. His research has led to groundbreaking discoveries such as that of the Great Southern Australian Coastal Upwelling System, which key nutrient source for the Southern Ocean marine food web. Kaempf also uncovered the physical mechanisms driving gigantic phytoplankton blooms in the Arafura Sea north of Australia. He was the first marine scientist exploring and describing the water circulation of both the Persian Gulf and South Australian gulfs with state-of-the-art 3D hydrodynamic models. One of his favorite research topics is that of canyon-flow interactions.

Recently, Kaempf discovered that downwelling-favourable coastal winds can induce extreme bed shear stresses and substantial sediment suspension in nearshore waters within a distance of 20 km from a coast. This new finding is fundumental in the understanding of sediment transport and transport in the oceans. Kaempf has also recently developed a new theory that explains the mechanisms that control the Indian Ocean Dipole, which via its influece on droughts and floods in the region influences the wellbeing of millions of people.

Kaempf has published two textbooks on ocean modelling as a contribution to classroom teaching of oceanography, a monograph on upwelling systems of the world (co-authored by Piers Chapman), numerous book chapters, and around 40 peer-reviewed publications.

Research Interests

My research interests include:

  • Coastal & estuarine oceanography
  • Transport time-scale analysis (e.g. flushing time) and marine connectivity
  • Coastal upwelling & upwelling in shelf-break canyons
  • Mixed-layer dynamics & oceanic convection
  • Suspended sediment dynamics (e.g. turbidity currents)
  • Deep-ocean processes & mixing
  • Pollutant dispersal (e.g. desalination brine)

Completed Supervisions

Principal Supervisions:
  • Oceanography/Climate Science (7)
Associate Supervisions:
  • Oceanography/Climate Science (3)

Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):

  • SDG 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation
  • SDG 7 - Affordable and Clean Energy
  • SDG 9 - Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
  • SDG 13 - Climate Action
  • SDG 14 - Life Below Water

Supervision

  • Registered

Research Areas

  • Ecology and conservation
  • Marine and coastal sciences

Supervisory Interests

  • Oceanography
  • Climate variability
  • Hydrodynamic modelling

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics where Jochen Kaempf is active. These topic labels come from the works of this person. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
  • 1 Similar Profiles

Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years

Recent external collaboration on country/territory level. Dive into details by clicking on the dots or