1982 CHRISTOPHER GARRETT
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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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