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CHRISTOPHER
GARRETT (1982)
Dr.
Christopher J.R. Garrett, the fifth recipient of the A.G. Huntsman Award,
is an expert in the subject of ocean mixing. Dr. Garrett, who teaches
physical oceanography at Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia,
studies the complicated physical behaviour of the ocean, how it moves and
mixes horizontally and vertically in scales ranging from one millimeter to
10,000 kilometres, in such diverse places as continental shelves and
mid-ocean deeps. He brings to the task the tools of the mathematician, the
physicist, and the chemist, and he believes that earlier, simplistic views
of the ocean have given way to a "hopeful confusion" that will
move scientists closer to a realistic appreciation of the seas. Ocean
mixing studies are closely linked to the forecast of short- and
medium-range weather trends, the capacity of the ocean to accept waste,
including low-level radioactive waste, the security of offshore gas and
oil rigs, production platforms, and underwater pipelines, the feasibility
of tidal power, and the management of fish stocks. Dr. Garrett, a native
of Bude, England, is a graduate of University of Cambridge (B.A.
mathematics, 1965; Ph.D., geophysical fluid dynamics, 1968). Before
joining Dalhousie University in 1971, he served various research
capacities at Trinity College, Cambridge, the University of British
Columbia Institute of Oceanography, and the Institute of Geophysics and
Planetary Physics, La Jolla, California. He was elected to the Royal
Society of Canada in 1977. Although at the forefront of his research
field, he is also an excellent supervisor of students.
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