The IUTAM/IUGG/IMS Spring School "Fluid Mechanics and Geophysics of Environmental Hazards", supported by a special grant from ICSU, that will take place in Singapore 19 April-2 May 2009, is now announced online.

This School is intended to focus on fluid mechanical aspects, and is aimed at students who have already graduated in mathematics, physics or engineering, and who wish to undertake research in this broad area. It is intended to bring students rapidly to current research frontiers in the fluid mechanics of environmental hazards. The School will start with introductory and motivational lectures on the fundamentals of geophysical fluid dynamics, and on geophysical hazard and risk in atmosphere and ocean contexts, and will then focus on four specific environmental hazards:

   1. typhoons and tropical cyclones;

   2. monsoons and flooding;

   3. tsunamis;

   4. pollution of atmosphere, ocean and the urban environment.

The School will include workshop activity in which groups of students will study key papers cited by the lecturers, and will be encouraged to identify and formulate new model problems that need to be solved in each of the above four areas. In this way, it is envisaged that the students will be fully involved in active and collaborative research activity.

The longer-term objective is to initiate a network of young scientists in countries of Asia and the Pacific Region who will be committed to work in this interdisciplinary area, and to launch a program of research addressing these problems.

For more details about the School, especially for bright graduate students who may be interested in applying, please go to:

http://www.ims.nus.edu.sg/Programs/09fluidss/index.ht