Ferris Webster

Curriculum Vitae

Professor, physical oceanographer

College of Marine Studies
University of Delaware
Lewes, DE 19958
Tel (302) 645-4266
Fax (302) 645-4007
E-mail: ferris@udel.edu

Education

• B.Sc., Physics, University of Alberta, 1956
• M.Sc., Physics, University of Alberta, 1957
• Ph.D., Geophysics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1961

Professional Experience

• Professor, College of Marine Studies, University of Delaware, 1983-present.
• Director, Oceanography Program, College of Marine Studies, University of Delaware, 1983-94, 1999-present
• Senior Fellow, National Academy of Sciences, 1982-83.
• Assistant Administrator for Research and Development, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 1978-82.
• Research Assistant, 1956-62; Research Associate, 1962-63; Assistant Scientist, 1963-65; Associate Scientist, 1965-70; Senior Scientist, 1970-78; Chairman, Department of Physical Oceanography, 1971-73; Associate Director for Research, 1973-78, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI).
• Research Assistant, 1957-59; Assistant Professor of Oceanography, 1966-68, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
• Visitor, National Institute of Oceanography, Wormley, England, 1969-70.

Home Address

P.O. Box 765
Lewes, DE 19958-0765
Tel. 302-645-2532

Teaching

• MAST 602, Introduction to Physical Oceanography (yearly).
• MAST 809, The ocean and climate variation. (alternate years).
• MAST 200 Concepts in Oceanography (1995).
• CMS /AS 363/677, Frontiers in Oceanography, Honors course (1984).

Advisement at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution:

• 1970 Ph.D. Dr. Henry Perkins. Inertial oscillations in the Mediterranean.
  

Advisement at the University of Delaware

• 1987 M.S. Yan Zhang. Interannual variations of sea-surface temperature in the South China Sea and the El Niño Southern Oscillation.
• 1988-90, Ph.D. Dr. Thomas Smith. The tropical Pacific Ocean's heat budget during a cold event, from a numerical model.
• 1990-93, M.S. Xian-Feng Zheng,. An investigation of year-to-year variation of sea-surface temperature in the North Atlantic from 1950 to 1989.
• 1991-94, M.S. Baochun Ge, Estimating vorticity balance within and under the thermocline using SOFAR float and hydrographic data.
• 1990-96, Ph.D. Dr. Xiuren Wang, Seasonal variations of sea-surface temperature in response to large-scale atmospheric anomalies in the North Atlantic.
• 1997 -2002 Ph.D. Magadalena Anguelova, Sea-salt aerosols: Their generation and role in the climate system.

University and College Service

• Oceanography Program, CMS, Director, 1983-94, 1998-
• CMS Ship Advisory Council, Chair, 1982-86; Member, 1987-94
• University Faculty Senate, 1984-86
• CMS Associate Dean Search Committee, Chair, 1985-86
• Faculty Advisory Committee, University President Search, Member, 1988-89
• CMS Associate Dean Search Committee, Member, 1996.

Public Service

(unless otherwise noted, as member)

National Research Council (NRC):

• Panel on Oceanography, Committee on Polar Research, 1972-75.
• US Committee for the Global Atmospheric Research Program, 1973-75.
• Ocean Science Committee, 1973-75.
• Ocean Sciences Board, 1976-78; Chair, 1977-78.
• Review of NOAA oceanic research and development, Chair, 1975-77.
• Climate Research Board, 1977-78.
• Geophysics Research Committee, 1982-86.
• Ocean Climate Research Committee, 1983-85.
• Climate Research Committee, 1983-86.
• TOGA Advisory Panel, 1984-1986; Chair, 1984-85.
• Geophysics Research Forum, 1985-86
• Committee on Geophysical Data, Chair, 1985-1994.
• Review of NASA's Earth Observing System in the context of the US Global Change Research Program, 1990
• Review of the National Space Science Data Center, 1991-92
• Global Change Data Forum, Chair, 1992, 1993.
• Review of the National Climatic Data Center, 1993-94.
• Review of the US Global Change Research Program and Mission to Planet Earth/Earth Observing System, 1995.
• Review of NASA's Distributed Active Archive Centers, 1997-98
• Review of NOAA's National Geophysical Data Center, 2002-2003, Chair

Other Scientific Committees:

• International Southern Ocean Studies Executive Committee, 1974-76.
• Joint POLYMODE Executive Committee, 1974-81.
• TOGA Steering Committee, Committee for Climatic Changes and the Ocean (CCCO), 1983-86.
• WOCE (World Ocean Circulation Experiment) Science Steering Committee, 1984-88.
• WOCE Data Management Working Group, Chair, 1984-1987. Member, 1988-93.
• NASA Satellite Ocean Data Systems Scientific Working Group (SODSSWG) 1986-88.
• SODSSWG Network Panel, Chair, 1987-88.
• NASA Science Internet Science Steering Committee, 1987-92.
• US-USSR Joint Working Group on Earth Sciences, US Coordinator, Oceans, 1988-93.
• CLIVAR (Climate Variability and Predictability Program) Data Task Team, Chair, 1999-present

Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC):

• Group of Experts on Ocean Variability, Chair, 1969-71.
• Group of Experts on oceanographic research as it relates to IGOSS, Chair, 1971-75.
• IOC/WMO Group of experts on IGOSS, Subject Leader, 1975-78.
• US Delegation to IOC, 1971, 1975, 1977, 1979.
• US Representative to the IOC Executive Council, 1979-82.
• Group of Experts on RNODCs and Climate Data Services, 1987-1996.

International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU)

• SCOR Working Group 21 on Continuous Velocity Measurements, 1970-74.
• ICSU Panel on World Data Centers, US Rep., 1992-present, Chair, 1995-present.
• CODATA Commission on Data Access, Chair, 1994-present.
• ICSU/CODATA ad hoc Group on Data and Information, Chair, 1996-present.

Other Committee Service:

• University National Oceanographic Laboratory System (UNOLS):
  Chair, 1983-86; Vice-Chair, 1976-78;
  Member, Advisory Council, 1975-77.
• Advisory Committee for Ocean Sciences, National Science Foundation, 1978-82.
• North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Special Program Panel on Marine Sciences, 1979-84; Chair, 1983-84.
• Comité national pour l'évaluation de recherche (CNER), France, Expert, 1990-94:
  IFREMER (Institut français pour la recherche et l'exploitation de la mer)
  INSU (Institut national des sciences de l'univers)
  ORSTOM (Institut français pour la coopération en développement).
• Committee on University Relations, NOAA, 1992-1994.
• Science Advisory Panel on Climate Change Data and Detection,
  NOAA Climate and Global Change Program, Chair, 1992-present.
• Association of American Universities, Research Libraries Project, 1993-94..
• Panel on NOAA's Data Management Programs, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), Chair, 1994-1999
• Global Observing Systems Joint Data and Information Panel, 1994-2000.
• American Meteorological Society, Glossary Advisory Board, 1995-2000.
• NOAA Council on Long-term Climate Monitoring, 2003-present

Federal Committees:

• US-France Cooperative Program in Oceanography, US Co-Chair, 1978-82.
• US-China Program on Oceanographic & Fisheries Sciences,
  US Co-Chair, 1978-82.
• Interagency Task Force on Acid Precipitation, Co-Chair, 1981-82.
• Subcommittee on Marine Research, Committee on Atmospheres and Oceans, Chair, 1980-82.
• Interagency Working Group on Data Management for Global Change,
  Liaison member, 1990-94.

Learned Societies & Editorial Activities

• Oceanography Section, American Geophysical Union,
  Vice President, 1972-74, President, 1974-76.
• Reviews of Geophysics and Space Physics, Associate Editor, 1970-74.
• MODE Hot-Line News, Editor, 1972-75.
• POLYMODE News, Editor, 1976-80.
• Oceanologica Acta, Board of Sponsors, 1977-1987.

Visiting Committees:

• Visiting Committee, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, MIT, 1979-82.
• Ministère des Universités, France, 1980-81.
• Visiting Committee, Brookhaven National Lab, Dept. of Applied Science, 1983-87.
• Visiting Committee, National Climatic Data Center, Asheville, NC, 1991-present.
• Visiting Committee, Institute of Oceanographic Sciences, Victoria, BC, Canada, 1993.
• Environment Expert Panel, Networks of Centres of Excellence,
  Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, 1995.

Corporation Memberships

• Bermuda Biological Station, 1965-present.
• University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (Member's Representative.) 1973-78.
• Marine Biological Laboratory, 1974-86.
• Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 1975-78.

Research Interests

Principal currents interests are the data and information needs of global environmental research programs and the role of the ocean in climate change. Other interests include oceanic variability; time-series analysis, time-variable ocean currents, and the processes of Gulf Stream meanders.

Publications, Ferris Webster

• Garland, G. D., and T. F. Webster, 1960. Studies of natural electric and magnetic fields, Jour. Of Nat. Bur. Stds., 64, 4, 405-408.
• Webster, Ferris, 1961. A description of Gulf Stream meanders off Onslow Bay, Deep-Sea Res., 8, 2, 130-143.
• Webster, Ferris, 1961. The effect of meanders on the kinetic energy of the Gulf Stream, Tellus, 13, 3, 392-401.
• Webster, Ferris, 1962. Departures from geostrophy in the Gulf Stream, Deep-Sea Res., 9, 2, 117-119.
• Webster, Ferris, 1963. A preliminary analysis of some Richardson current meter records, Deep-Sea Res., 10, 4, 389-396.
• Webster, Ferris, 1964. Some perils of measurement from moored ocean buoys, Trans., 1964 Buoy Tech. Symp., Marine Technology Society, Washington, D.C., 33-48.
• Webster, Ferris, 1965. Measurements of eddy fluxes of momentum in the surface layer of the Gulf Stream, Tellus, 17, 2, 239-245.
• Day, C. G., and F. Webster, 1965. Some current measurements in the Sargasso Sea, Deep-Sea Res., 12, 6, 805-814.
• Webster, Ferris, 1967. A scheme for sampling deep-sea currents from moored buoys, Trans., 2nd Buoy Tech. Symp., Marine Technology Society, Washington, D.C., 419-431.
• Webster, Ferris, 1968. Observations of inertial-period motions in the deep sea, Reviews of Geophys., 6, 4, 473-490.
• Webster, Ferris, 1969. On the representativeness of direct deep-sea current measurements, in: Progress in Oceanography, M. Sears, ed., 5, Pergamon Press, Oxford, 3-15.
• Webster, Ferris, 1969. Vertical profiles of horizontal ocean currents, Deep-Sea Res., 16, 1, 85-98.
• Webster, Ferris, 1969. Turbulence spectra in the ocean, Deep-Sea Res., Suppl. to 16, 357-368.
• Webster, Ferris, 1970. Lectures on ocean currents, in: Cahiers de méchanique mathématique, 26, Univ. of Liège, Belgium, 20-53.
• Webster, Ferris, 1971. On the intensity of horizontal ocean currents, Deep-Sea Res., 18, 9, 885-893.
• Webster, Ferris, 1971. Variability of ocean circulation, EOS, 52, 6, 225-227.
• Fofonoff, N.P., and F. Webster, 1971. Current measurements in the western Atlantic, Trans. Roy. Soc. London, A270, 1206, 423-436.
• Webster, Ferris, 1972. Estimates of the coherence of ocean currents over vertical distances, Deep-Sea Res., 19, 1, 35-44.
• MODE Group, 1978. The Mid-Ocean Dynamics Experiment, Deep-Sea Res., 25, 10, 859-910.
• Webster, Ferris, 1981. The U.S. experience in marine pollution problems, in: Actual problems of oceanography in Portugal, Junta Nacional de Investigaçao Cientifica e Tecnológia, Lisboa, pp. 129-135.
• Webster, Ferris, 1983. Effective use of the sea: Oceanography, in: Proceedings, Oceans '83, Vol III, MTS/IEEE, New York, pp. 1124-1127.
• Webster, Ferris, 1984. An ocean climate research strategy, National Academy Press, Washington DC, 66pp.
• Webster, Ferris, and Michèle Fieux, 1984. TOGA Overview, in: Large-Scale Oceanographic Experiments and Satellites, C. Gautier & M. Fieux, Eds., Reidel, Dordrecht, Holland, pp. 17-26.
• Webster, Ferris, 1984. Ocean Climate Research, Eos, 65, 32, 466-468.
• Webster, Ferris, 1988. Technology and data management; U.S. science community views, in New developments in marine science and technology: economic, legal and political aspects of change, Proc., 22nd annual conference of the Law of the Sea Institute, Law of the Sea Institute, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, pp. 345-355.
• Webster, Ferris, 1991. EOS, the Earth observing System: NASA's global change research mission, in: Space Policy Alternatives, Westview Special Studies in Science, Technology, and Public Policy, Boulder Colorado, pp. 183-198.
• Committee on Geophysical Data, National Research Council, 1991. Solving the Global Change Puzzle; A U.S. Strategy for Managing Data and Information, National Academy Press, Washington, 52 pp. (F. Webster lead author).
• Webster, Ferris, 1992. L'océan, facteur clé du changement global. in: La terre, patrimoine commun, Martine Barrère, ed., Éditions La Découverte/Association Descartes, Paris.
• UCAR Data Management Panel, 1994. Responding to Exponentially Increasing Demand; Modernizing NOAA's Data and Information System. University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, 22 pp. (F. Webster lead author).
• Webster, Ferris, 2002. Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Physics. In: AIP Physics Desk Reference, Cohen, Lide, and Trigg, eds., Springer-Verlag, New York, pp. 349-375.

Theses

• Webster, Ferris, 1957. An experimental investigation of telluric and magnetotelluric phenomena, M.Sc. Thesis, University of Alberta, School of Graduate Studies, 92 pp.
• Webster, Ferris, 1961. A description and an analysis of meanders in the Gulf Stream, Ph.D. Thesis, Dept. of Geology and Geophysics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 142 pp.

Non-technical Publications

• Webster, Ferris, 1984. Studying El Niño on a Global Scale, Oceanus, 27, 2, 58-62.
• Webster, Ferris, 1986. Editorial: Redefining UNOLS Research Fleet Needs, Sea Technology, June 1986.
• Webster, Ferris, 1988. A trip to Moscow, Oceanography, 1, 2, 46-47.
• Webster, Ferris, 1992. The role of the World Data Centers in Handling Ocean Climate Data. in: Proceedings of the Ocean Climate Data Workshop, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD.

18 February, 2003

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