Postdoctoral Fellows
Dr Mesmin Awo
Research interest: Impact of Benguela Niños and Congo River on the marine ecosystem and ocean salinity.
Advisor: A/Prof Mathieu Rouault (NRF SARCHI CHAIR, UCT)
Affiliation: Nansen-Tutu Centre
Dr Marie-Lou Bachèlery
Research Interest: Dr Marie-Lou Bachèlery's research covers physical and biogeochemical oceanography, physical/biogeochemical interactions, regional processes, and numerical modelling (coupled regional oceanic simulations) in coastal and open ocean sectors. She is mainly interested in the regional variability of the South-Eastern Atlantic Ocean with a special focus on the Benguela Upwelling System. Her research apprehends equatorial dynamics and its connection with the interannual coastal variability off the coasts of Angola, Namibia, and South-Africa.
Advisor: A/Prof Mathieu Rouault (UCT)
Affiliations: PREFACE (International Project and NRF SARCHI chair) , Nansen-Tutu Centre
Dr Rondrotiana Barimalala
Research interests: Climate variability, coupled ocean - atmosphere processes, climate modelling.
Currently focusing on the role of the tropical Indian Ocean on Central and Southern African climate variability.
Advisor: Prof Chris Reason (UCT)
Affiliation: The work is part of the UMFULA project , within the Future Climate For Africa Programme
Dr Abdoul Chama
Research interests: Applied mathematics, finite element, computational electromagnetics
Advisor: A/Prof Marcello Vichi (Ma-Re, UCT)
Affiliation: Dept. of Oceanography, UCT
Dr Fabien Desbiolles
Research interests: Atmospheric response to ocean mesoscale variability, Ocean-Atmospohere interactions, Boundary layer dynamics, Atmospheric and oceanic modeling, Central and Southern African climate, low-level atmospheric and upper ocean processes
Advisor: Prof. Chris Reason (UCT)
Affiliation: UCT, UMFULA project (UCT, Oxford, Sussex and LSE) within the Future Climate For Africa program
Dr Subhra Dey
Research interests: Physical and biogeochemical oceanography, numerical ocean modeling and coupling with a biogeochemical component. The current project I am working on is the humpback whales in a changing climate.
Advisor: A/Prof Marcello Vichi (Ma-Re, UCT)
Affiliation: Marine Research Institute (Ma-Re), Dept. of Oceanography, UCT
Dr Luke Gregor
Research interests:
Advisor:
Affiliation:
Dr Alice Lebehot
Research interests: By reconciling in-situ biogeochemical properties with Earth System Models data, her research broadly aims at understanding the variability of the ocean CO2 sink, and the drivers of this change. She is particularly interested in the mechanisms involved in the sub-seasonal CO2 ocean variability in the Southern Ocean, using high-resolution observations (gliders) and model outputs. Beside her research, she provides logistical and technical support, as Chapter Scientist, for the Carbon and Biogeochemical Feedbacks chapter (Chapter 5; WG1) of the next IPCC (AR6).
Advisor: A/Prof Marcello Vichi, Dr Pedro Monteiro
Affiliation: SOCCO-CSIR
Dr Georges-Noel Longandjo
Research interests: Dr Georges-Noel T. Longandjo recently completed his PhD working on drivers of Central Africa rainfall annual cycle and variability. His research addresses fundamental questions in atmospheric and climate dynamics, land-ocean interactions, the water cycle, and past & future climate change
Advisor: A/Prof Mathieu Rouault (UCT)
Affiliation: Dept. of Oceanography, UCT (SARChI), Nansen Tutu Center for Environmental Marine Research
Dr Daneeja Mawren
Research interests: Understanding climate variability in the tropical Indian Ocean (with a focus over the Seychelles-Chagos Thermocline Ridge) - Role of upper-ocean dynamics in climate variability - Tropical cyclones and climate - Ocean modelling - Tropical ocean-atmosphere interaction
Advisor: Prof Chris Reason(UCT) and Dr. Juliet Hermes(SAEON)
Affiliation: Dept. of Oceanography, UCT and SAEON
Dr Eleonora Puccinelli
Research interest: Dr Eleonora Puccinelli is a Marine Ecologist working as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Cape Town. She is specialized in trophic ecology of benthic intertidal and deep-sea ecosystems, focussing on the Southern Ocean Prince Edward Islands and the coastal area of False Bay in South Africa.Her research mainly focuses on understanding the effects of climate change, environmental factors and human activities on trophic dynamics of these ecosystems, and to evaluate possible solutions to these threats.
Website: http://eleonorapuccinelli-naturalview.com/
Advisor: Dr Sarah Fawcett (UCT)
Affiliation: Dept. of Oceanography, UCT
Dr Juliano Ramanantsoa
Research interests: Juliano's research focused is on the ocean circulation at the south-west Indian Ocean, particularly, more emphasis for circulation around Madagascar.
Advisor: A/Prof Mathieu Rouault (UCT)
Affiliation: Oceanography Department (SARChI), Nansen Tutu Center for Environmental Marine Research
Dr Lisl Roberstson Lain
Research interests: My research interests lie in optical oceanography: both satellite and in situ. My main area of specialisation is in bio-optical modelling of phytoplankton, and in particular the development and application of the UCT-CSIR Equivalent Algal Populations model of two-layered spheres. This model reveals the fundamental role of phytoplankton backscatter in ocean optics, with associated implications for the accurate detection of Phytoplankton Functional Types from satellite radiometry. An additional area of interest is in radiative transfer modelling using Hydrolight, with a view to understanding the light field as observed by radiometric sensors (i.e. ocean colour). Current research activities: development and application of the EAP model in the S. Ocean, and to African coastal and shelf seas using Sentinel-3 satellite data.
Website: https://thecoatedsphere.com/
Advisor: A/Prof Marcello Vichi(UCT), Dr Sandy Thomalla & Dr Stewart Bernard(CSIR)
Affiliations: Council for Scientific and Industrial Research(CSIR)