David Williams

Although I am working at the University of Liverpool in the National Oceanography Centre, my research, modelling meteotsunami on the European shelf, covers both atmospheric and ocean science. These tsunami-like waves are generated by atmospheric pressure disturbances and have been known to reach up to 5 – 6 m in various locations across the globe, but very little is known about them and modelling is in the early stages. 

Having started in a Geophysics MSci at Imperial College London, my research has taken a turn from studying and modelling the solid earth, to oceanic and atmospheric geophysical flows. I am currently supervised by Kevin Horsburgh (NOC) and David Schultz (UoM), who specialise in ocean and atmospheric dynamics respectively. By coupling the Weather Research Model (WRF) and Telemac2D, the aim is to reproduce meteotsunami with more realistic atmospheric models than has been previously attempted. Furthermore, this research aims to aid the problem of forecasting such events at the UK coastline, where they have been noted to occur on the southern coast of England and across Scotland.