Students

Stephanie Gleixner

I am from Germany and did my Bachelor of Meteorology and Master of Climate Science in Berlin and Kiel. Since 2012 I have been a PhD student of Noel Keenlyside at the University of Bergen, Norway. I started working on Tropical Climate during my time at Geomar in Kiel, where I did research on tropical cyclones in climate projections. I followed this interest with a PhD project on seasonal predictability of precipitation in the Horn of Africa, mainly examining connections between summer rainfall in Ethiopia and global sea surface temperatures. I am an enthusiastic traveller and foodie and never leave the house without a novel in my bag

Rodrigue Imbol

I am from Cameroun, currently doing my PhD at the Nansen Tutu Center and the oceanography department of UCT. I am studying the ocean circulation in the tropical south east Atlantic with a focus on the Angola current and its connection with the tropical Atlantic as part of the project Preface under Mathieu Rouault supervision. I did my Master in physical oceanography at ICMPA at Cotonou (Benin) a co-badging between university of Toulouse III (France) and university of Abomey-Calavi (Benin) on the analysis of the evolution of oceanic conditions along a cross-equatorial transect at 1°W. I like listening to music, reading, sport activities, computer games and travel.

You need to prepare a poster with your picture, your thesis topic or research topic or scientific question(s) you want to answer. Keep it simple, not too many text. It will be showcase in the lecture room. A3 format is fine. Best poster will be rewarded by a bottle of wine.

Thulwaneng Mashifane

I am from South Africa, currently doing my PhD at the UCT Department of Oceanography focusing on Ocean Biogeochemistry. My thesis aims to understand shelf biogeochemical interactions and feedback processes in the oxygen minimum zone of the Benguela upwelling system. At this stage I’m mostly using the BioEBUS model and available in-situ data to study these processes. My spare time is usually spent with friends obsessing about football, if not paging through a thick novel somewhere in the corner of my world.

Kyle Cooper

I am from South Africa I have recently finished my Masters degree at the University of Cape Town. I investigated and validated global operational reanalysis products over the Agulhas Current System. I used products from MyOcean 2, the U.S Navy and the CSIRO in Australia and my supervisor was Bjorn Backeberg. I am currently employed as a PAM operator, and looking to pursue further research in data assimilation. I grew up in Cape Town, and love what the city has to offer. I enjoy a number of activities around the city such as hiking/running, diving, and swimming

Juliano Dani

I am from Madagascar and a doctoral student from the Fisheries and Marine Science Institute of Madagascar. I spend half of the year at the Nansen Tutu Center and the oceanography department of UCT under the supervison of Marjolaine Krug. My research is on a vulnerable ecosystem, the upwelling at the south of Madagascar, which possess an important interconnection with the Indian Ocean ocean circulation on top of atmosphere forcing. My basic specialization is the biological oceanography, marine and geophysical remote sensing and physical oceanography.

Yao Fu

I am from China, and currently a PhD student in physical oceanography at GEOMAR in Kiel Germany. I am working with Peter Brandt andJohannes Karstensen under a German research project FOR1740: Atlantic Freshwater Cycle. The main focus of my work is on the meridional freshwater and salinity transport in the northern tropical Atlantic by analyzing observational data. I will arrive in Cape Town by sea on the RV Polarstern Saturday 29 of November. Apart from work, I really love traveling and reading

Georges-Noel Longandjo

I am from Democratic Republic of Congo. I am a lecturer at Institut Superieur des Techniques Appliquees, Kinshasa, DRC. I am presently doing a PHD at the Nansen Tutu Center and Dept of Oceanography at UCT under Mathieu Rouault supervision as part as PREFACE My research interests lie in understanding the role of ocean-land-atmosphere interactions and aerosols in climate, climate variability, tropical meteorology and the role of the Oceans on the climate of Central Africa.

Franz Philip Tuchen

I am from Germany and currently doing my Master in "Climate Physics" at the University of Kiel and Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel. I did my Bachelor in 2013 in Kiel on the influence of wind stress on the meridional overturning circulation in the Kiel Climate Model. I am interested in ocean-atmosphere interaction, variability and all kind of waves in the ocean. I also like to work on research cruises and took part in the RV Meteor 106 cruise and right before the summer school I will do the RV Polarstern 88b cruise that will arive in Cape Town Saturday 29 of November

Marta Martín del Rey

I am from Spain and a PhD of the Department of Geophysics and Meteorology of the Complutense University of Madrid. My PhD thesis is entitled “Air-Sea interactions related to the Atlantic-Pacific connection after the 1970s” and it is supervised by Belén Rodríguez de Fonseca and Irene Polo Sánchez. Also, I collaborate with UCAD (Senegal) on the cooperative project 'Creación y Donación de un modelo estadístico de predicción de lluvias en el Sahel” and 'Actualización de Recursos del Laboratorio de Física de la Atmósfera y el Océano Simeon Fongagn.

Roberto Suárez

I am from Spain and a PhD student in the Department of Geophysics and Meteorology of University Complutense of Madrid. My thesis is supervised by Belén Rodríguez de Fonseca. The research focuses on the influence of anomalous sea surface temperature on Sahel rainfall variability. My Master's degree in Geophysics and Meteorology was done in co-operation with Senegal and entitled “Creation of a statistical prediction model of Sahelian rainfall”. Climbing, climbing, climbing and sometimes travel for climbing, are my favorite activities.

Daniel Schilperoort

I am a South African Masters student, studying at the Nansen-Tutu Centre and the Oceanography department of UCT. My thesis topic is “A combined analysis of SAR winds and numerically derived wind fields (CFS-reanalysis and CFS2) to improve wind forecasting in western boundary current regions with specific emphasis on the effect of the Agulhas Current on the SAR signal” My supervisors are Marjolaine Krug and Mathieu Rouault. Outside of study my interests are surfing, ocean kayaking, diving and trail running.

Sandrine Djakoure

I am from Ivory Coast and an IRD PHD student in physical oceanography. I am currently doing my research at UCT, Brest (France) and at International Chair of Mathematical Physics and Applications of University of Abomey-Calavi, Cotonou, Benin. My thesis focuses on the analysis of the oceanic circulation in the Northern Gulf of Guinea. I am using modeling to study the dynamics of the Gulf of Guinea coastal upwelling. My supervisors are Bernard Bourlès and PierrickPenven from IRD and Jennifer Veitch from UCT. I like listening to music and also enjoy cooking.

Chukwudi Ekwezuo

I am from Nigeria, I studied Geography and currently doing my Master in Climatology at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. My thesis topic is “Simulation and Projections of West African Precipitation Using Global Climate Models”. My research focuses on evaluating how well the IPCC models simulates the present day precipitation and the effect of the tropical systematic biases on the simulated/projected precipitation over the region. Under the supervision of Dr. Hyacinth C. Nnamchi, who is a partner with the PREFACE Project. In my spare time I enjoy giving talks to younger minds, chating and travelling

Iñigo Gómara

I am from Spain and I am a final year PhD student at UCM co-supervised by Belén Rodríguez de Fonseca, Pablo Zurita Gotor and Joaquim Pinto and an active member of the TROPical Atlantic variability research group. My research is focused on the relation between the large scale circulation and the North Atlantic storm track, with special interest on explosive cyclogenesis. Currently I am studying the potential influence of the tropical Atlantic and Pacific oceans over the North Atlantic extra-tropical cyclone activity. Beside making tornadoes in plasctic bottles my hobbies are football, listening to music and travelling.

Karen Fosse Sivertsen

I am a Norwegian Masters student at the University of Bergen. My Masters thesis falls under the SCAMPI project, a collaboration between Cape Town’s Marine Research Institute (including the Nansen-Tutu Centre) and the Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Centre in Bergen. For my thesis I am looking at variability in the geostrophic flow of the Agulhas current through satellite altimetry data. During my undergrad I spent one year at UCT, which led to my interest for the oceans around South Africa. Apart from my studies I like dancing and hiking.

Daneeja Mawren

I am from Mauritius and I did my undergraduate degree in Physics at the University of Mauritius and a Master's degree in Ocean and climate dynamics at the University of Cape Town. I am doing a PhD at UCT to work on the variability of Tropical Cyclone Heat Potential (TCHP) in the Indian Ocean. Given the vulnerability of the population living in coastal regions and small islands, better forecasting tools to monitor sudden intensification of a tropical cyclone is of upmost importance. In my spare time, I enjoy yoga, reading, playing guitar and hiking in and around Cape Town.

Pierré de Wet

I am a South African and completed my Masters in Applied Mathematics at the University of Stellenbosch in 2009. I worked at the CSIR in Stellenbosch for two years, before moving to Norway in March 2012 to start a PhD at the University of Bergen. My PhD study concerns the investigation and implementation of a parameterisation of oceanic near-inertial motions in the Norwegian Earth System Climate Model. I enjoy swimming, scuba diving, jogging and squash. I like being in the outdoors and travelling off the beaten track, road trips being a favourite.

Olivier Numwa

I am from Namibia and currently working for the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources as a Junior Fisheries Biologist under the sub-section of physical and chemical oceanography. I completed my bachelor in Fisheries and Aquatic Science at the University of Namibia in and did my honours degree in Biodiversity and Conservation Biology at the University of the Western Cape. My thesis was on the spatial and temporal patterns in meso zooplankton structure off Lüderitz. I am planning to enrolling at the University of Cape Town for an MSc in Oceanography. I like watching soccer, reading news and playing volley ball

Julián Villamayor

II am from Spain and currently doing my PhD at Complutense University of Madrid. In 2010-2012 I did a Master’s Degree in Geophysics and Meteorology with thesis titled Sahelian rainfall low-frequency variability and the relationship with multidecadal variability of sea surface temperatures in CMIP5 simulations under the supervision of Elsa Mohino. My research focuses on West African Monsoon variability driven by low-frequency patterns of Sea Surface Temperature simulated by the state of the art global coupled climate models CMIP5. I like cycling and enjoy the nature.

Anna Lena Deppenmeier

I am from Germany and I am currently living in the Netherlands where I perform research for my PhD on climate variability in the tropical Atlantic. My background is in theoretical chemistry and I made the leap from molecular modelling to climate modelling in the beginning of this year. Now I am working on improving our understanding of the tropical Atlantic air-sea interaction which hopefully leads us to more reliable forecasts in the area. I enjoy squash and yoga, losing myself in a good book and discovering the beauty and cultures of our planet

Fehmi Dilmahamod

II am from Mauritius and currently a new PhD student in the department of Oceanography at the University of Cape Town. My research focuses on the variability of the Southwest Indian Ocean, more specifically on the termination regime of the East Madagascar Current and the intriguing Southeast Madagascar Phytoplankton bloom. My personal interests include football, hiking, travelling and exploring the beauty of the world

Lea Svendsen

I am a Norwegian PhD student at the Nansen Center in Bergen, Norway, working with Prof. Noel Keenlyside and Yongqi Gao. I did my Masters in climate dynamics at the Geophysical Institute at the University of Bergen on the connection between the tropical Pacific and Atlantic basins. Currently, I am working on the influence of the Atlantic on the tropical Indo-Pacific and the Indian summer monsoon on interannual to multi-decadal timescales. On my spare time I like to dance, read and write, and of course travel, even though I get do that for my work also

Pedro Tchipalanga

I am from Angola.

Thilo Klenz

I am from Germany and a first year grad student at Geomar in Kiel, Germany in the program Climate Physics. I got my Bachelor's degree in Physical Oceanography at Geomar. For my thesis I worked on quantifying the impact of non-linear internal waves on the mixed layer heat budget off Peru. My interests revolve around tidal-induced internal waves in the ocean and ocean-atmosphere interactions. I participated in a research cruise in the Labrador and Irminger Seas in August and will be arriving in Cape Town on the RV Polarstern at the end of November. In my spare time I like to travel and collect records.

Mthetho Sovara

I am I am from Mthatha, a small city in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. I did my Master’s in Ocean and Climate Dynamics with the department of Oceanography at the University of Cape Town. I am now a PhD student with the same institution but I sit in Pretoria with the Climate Studies, Modelling and Environmental Health group of the CSIR. My research entails examining simulations of the stability of the thermohaline circulation under different radiative forcing’s using the parallel cubic ocean model (PCOM), a variable resolution ocean only model. My hobbies include playing rugby, travelling, meeting new people and exploring secrets of our planet.

Jorge López Parages

I am from Spain I studied Physics and at the Master in Geophysics and Meteorology at the Complutense University of Madrid. I am finishing my PhD which focuses on the role of the ocean mean state as modulator of the nonstationary link between ENSO and North Atlantic European Climate. I work in the TROPA group under the supervision of Belén Rodríguez de Fonseca, I participate in PREFACE and MULCLIVAR. I spend my spare time reading, writing and in sports and organizing and joining protests against the budget cuts in research system and public services.

Gaelle Herbert

I am from France. I am a PREFACE Postdoctoral fellow at IRD/LEGOS in Brest with Dr. Bernard Bourlès. I want to understand coastal upwelling generation processes in the eastern Tropical Atlantic Ocean. I was a Postdoctoral fellow at IFREMER where I worked on spectral nudging technique applied to a regional coastal model forced by a global one. I ahve a PHD in physical oceanography from University of Toulouse III, focused on the observation and modeling of the high frequency dynamics of the circulation in the Gulf of Biscay.

Bendix Vogel

I am from Germany and I am a PhD student in the Theory and Modelling department of the Ocean Circulation and Climate Dynamics research division at GEOMAR, Kiel, as part of the SACUS project (Southwest African Coastal Upwelling System and Benguela Niños). We want to reduce the warm bias climate models show in that region. For that purpose I use a shallow water model. In my free time I enjoy making music, doing sports, going to concerts and travelling.

Robert Kopte

I am from Germany and I live in Kiel, currently doing my PhD in Physical Oceanography at GEOMAR, Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel as part of PREFACE. I am studying the impact of remotely forced waves on the equatorial and coastal upwelling regions in the tropical and subtropical Atlantic by looking at satellite data as well as mooring data from the equatorial Atlantic. During my Master studies I worked on topics regarding the subpolar North Atlantic. In my spare time I like traveling, sport activities, but also enjoy good books and music.

Bastien Dieppois

I am from Normandy (France), I'm a UCT postdoctoral researcher at the African Climate Development Initiative. I'm working on evaluation of climate projections on decadal timescales over the African continent (West Africa, East Africa and Southern Africa). My PhD research focused on the nonstationnary behavior of the climate system and its impact on the regional hydrosystems over the mid-latitudes (England, northern France), but especially over the West African Sahel regions. During my free time, I'm also doing many sportive activities (Soccer, running, hikking)

Jaard Okke Hauschildt

I am from Germany and in my first year of the graduate program “Climate Physics“ at the University of Kiel and GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel. I did my bachelors program in Kiel as well, and in my thesis I worked on the influence of mesoscale variability on surface ocean CO2 concentrations in the tropical northeast Atlantic. I'm interested in ocean-atmosphere interaction and mesoscale eddies, but also in sea level rise and the political and economical aspects of climate change. I participated in a research cruise in the tropical Atlantic on the RV Meteor in April/May this year, and I will be arriving in Cape Town on the RV Polarstern at the end of November. Apart from studying the ocean, I also enjoy water sports like surfing/kitesurfing, making music, travelling and photography

Martin Krebs

I am from Germany, I studied physics in Munich and now I am a PhD student in the theory and modeling department at the GEOMAR in Kiel as part of PREFACE. I am working on modeling the Benguela upwelling, especially I am trying to understand the reasons for the warm bias in this area, which affects most of the climate and ocean models, and to improve our model. In my spare time I like to travel, read books, bicycle and cook.

Johannes Hahn

I am from Germany. I am a PostDoc at GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Germany. I studied Physics in Halle, Germany. After my diploma in 2009, I followed my attraction to the sea and marine sciences and started my PhD in Physical Oceanography with a focus on physical mechanisms in the oxygen minimum zone in the eastern tropical North Atlantic. My research interest focuses on ventilation processes as well as short- to long-term variability in the ocean interior. In my leasure time, I do a lot of sports like running, cycling or football, I like travelling or just enjoying time with friends.

Tom Lange

I am from Germany and I am a second year Master's student in the physical oceanography department at Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research in Warnemünde in northern Germany. In my ongoing Master’s thesis I am focusing on the turbulent mixing in the near bottom layer on the northern Namibian shelf. I did my Bachelor at Geomar in Kiel and in my thesis I studied the variability of extreme summer precipitation in Europe. I am spending my free time with traveling, various sports activities and the implementation of many social projects around the world