Kevin Lamb

Professor Kevin Lamb's primary area of research is on nonlinear internal waves in the ocean and in lakes. This work uses both theoretical and computational methods. Other research interests include other types of nonlinear waves in both fluids and other physical systems such as nonlinear optics. He is also interested in many other aspects of fluid dynamics including hydrodynamic instabilities, large scale ocean circulation, and a variety of stratified flow phenomena.

The goal of Kevin's research is to better understand the wave generation process and to understand what effects the waves have on their environment. Kevin is increasingly interested in investigated mixing processes associated with internal waves. His research is very numerically oriented and theoretical in nature. High resolution numerical simulations, using a fully-nonlinear, nonhydrostatic numerical model, are being done to study a variety of processes related to internal waves. These include such things as wave generation by tidal flow of topographic features such as bank edges and sills, the evolution of shoaling solitary waves and tidal flow over a sill. Mathematical models, such as those based on weakly-nonlinear theory, are also used to study problems related to internal solitary waves. These provides a framework for interpreting and understanding the results of numerical simulations.