Jochen Kaempf is a passionate and fearless physical oceanographer with over 20 years of professional experience.

Key Discoveries

Jochen's research revealed that downwelling-favorable winds trigger bursts of sediment erosion and benthic nutrient releases in coastal oceans. This knowledge is pivotal in the understanding of the functioning marine ecosystems in shelf seas!

He has presented the first ever theory that explains the existence of upslope transport and channeling of suspended sediment in submarine channels of continental margins. Incidentally, this theory also explains the accumulation of orcas near the head of the Hood Canyon in the western Great Australian Bight.

His research has led to the discovery 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 northwestern Arafura Sea north of Australia.

Jochen 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 circulation models.

Publication Achievements

He 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, Texas A&M University), numerous book chapters, and more than 40 peer-reviewed publications.