Johanna Rosman

Associate Professor

Rosman lab

Education

Ph.D., Stanford University, 2006
M.S. Stanford University, 2000
B.S./B.E. University of Western Australia, 1998

Research Interests

My research focuses on water motion at scales of cm – km in estuaries and the coastal ocean. We investigate how water moves in response to drivers such as wind, tides, waves, and density gradients, and the implications for transport of dissolved materials. We use a combination of field measurements, computer models, and theory to understand and predict these processes. Current research interests include: (1) flow over complex multi-scale topography such as coral reefs and rocky coasts; (2) the interplay between density stratification and turbulent mixing, and the effects on dissolved oxygen levels, in estuaries; and (3) wave dynamics across marshes and living shorelines.

Research and Activities

Dr Rosman’s area of expertise is environmental fluid dynamics. Her research focuses on the physical processes underlying water motion in estuarine and coastal systems. She aims to understand and predict how water moves in response to drivers such as wind, tides, waves, and density gradients, and the implications for transport of biologically important materials. She tackles these issues using a combination of field measurements, computer simulations, and theory. Recent research projects

• Interactions of ocean currents and waves with complex reef topography
• Wind-driven circulation and mixing, and impacts on hypoxia, in micro-tidal estuaries
• Wave transformations through salt marshes

Selected Publications

Example publications: Yu, X., J.H. Rosman, and J.L. Hench, in press, Boundary layer dynamics and bottom friction in combined wave current flow over large roughness elements, J. Fluid Mech. Duvall, M.S., J.H. Rosman, and J.L. Hench, 2020, Estimating geometric properties of coral reef topography using obstacle- and surface-based approaches, J. Geophys. Res. doi: 10.1029/2019JC015870. Duvall, M.S., J.L. Hench, and J.H. Rosman, 2019, Collapsing complexity: quantifying multi-scale properties of reef topography, J. Geophys. Res. doi: 10.1029/2018JC014859. Rosman, J.H., and G.P. Gerbi, 2017, Interpreting fixed-location observations of turbulence advected by waves: Insights from spectral models, J. Phys. Oceanogr. 47: 909-931. Housego, R.M., and J.H. Rosman, 2016, A Model for understanding the effects of sediment dynamics on oyster reef development, Estuaries and Coasts 39(2): 495-509. Rosman, J.H., M.W. Denny, R.B. Zeller, S.G. Monismith, and J.R. Koseff, 2013, Interaction of waves and currents with a kelp forest (Macrocystis pyrifera): Insights from a dynamically scaled laboratory model, Limnol. Oceanogr. 58(3): 790-802.