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Samuel Hartharn-Evans

Samuel’s research interests relate to understanding ice-ocean interactions in the Arctic Ocean. Their PhD research project is investigating ‘internal solitary waves in ice-covered waters’.

Project Title

'Internal Solitary Waves in Ice-Covered Waters'

About

I came to be a PhD Researcher in Applied Mathematics, having studied a BSc and MSc in Ocean Sciences. I’m interested in describing and understanding how sea ice and the oceans interact. Funded by Natural Environment Research Council through the ONE Planet Doctoral Training Programme.

Project Description

Density stratification in the world’s oceans support the propagation of Internal Waves. These waves are a crucial mechanism in the global cascade of energy from large scale inputs (tides and wind), to molecular scale output. In the Arctic Ocean, these waves are much less energetic, but are particularly important in driving the circulation and distribution of water masses. With declines of sea ice, understanding how internal waves interact with sea ice, and how sea ice affects them is required to understand the Arctic’s future. Observing waves in situ is particularly difficult so my project uses laboratory experiments to investigate the interactions between sea ice and internal waves.

Research Interests

My research focuses on understanding how the cryosphere and oceans interact in a variety of scales. My BSc and MSc dissertations both investigated how large-scale freshwater patterns could influence the transfer of heat from warm Atlantic water to waters at the surface (and subsequently ice).

With my PhD, I have turned to more of a process-based approach. In the first part I have investigated how the dynamics of shoaling internal solitary wave change in different stratification types. I hope to then apply this understanding of internal wave dynamics, instabilities and mixing, and experimental techniques to ice-ocean dynamics.

A presentation of my recent work can be found on YouTube

Other Interests

I’m a keen trombone player and brass bander. Through this I organised the 2019 UniBrass championships, and since have been a trustee of the UniBrass Foundation.

I’m the current ONE Planet Student Rep for Cohort 1, and treasurer of the UK Polar Network, which aims to provide networking for early-career polar researchers, run polar issue-based outreach and education events for young people and the general public, and to make polar science a welcoming, and inclusive place for all.

Education

  • BSc (Hons) Marine Biology and Oceanography, Bangor University, Wales, 2015-18
  • MSc Physical Oceanography, Bangor University, Wales, 2018-19

Supervisors

Contact

Email: S.Hartharn-Evans2@newcastle.ac.uk
Academic twitter profile: https://twitter.com/HartharnSam
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-hartharn-evans/
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4643-8932