Humankind has always had a fascination with the sea, and advances in civilisation are closely connected with man's enterprises on the oceans. The topic of nonlinear waves has its origin in the study of surface water waves, which have relevant applications to both coastal engineering and naval architecture. The study of global currents in the Earth's oceans is a topic of importance to the question of climate stability. Finally, statistical descriptions of nonlinear processes, such as the wave motion of the sea, are similar to models widely used in quantum field theory and Navier-Stokes turbulence. Furthermore they are currently in use in sea state weather prediction, for example in the North Atlantic, and are therefore relevant to the enterprise of shipping and global supply chains. All of the above topics are associated with major advances in mathematics, and as well with major open problems of current interest and mathematical activity.

The purpose of this Fields Institute program is to bring mathematical analysts and applied mathematicians together, along with practicing ocean scientists, to discuss the recent points of progress of these two domains. Furthermore, our goals are to bring these two communities into contact with ocean scientists, in a venue in which they can articulate the results of their recent progress, and ideally to understand its importance and/or relevance to genune oceanographic applications. There are three principal themes for this program:

(1) nonlinear ocean wave dynamics, including extreme wave dynamics such as rogue waves and tsunamis,

(2) oceanic circulation and ocean-atmosphere interaction, including global scale phenomena such as the meridional overturning circulation and currents such as the Gulf Stream, mesoscale processes described by quasi-geostrophic flows, as well as highly nonlinear submesoscale processes, including their role in the stability of the earth's climate, and the impact of their variations; and

(3) wave interactions and turbulence, including statistical descriptions of ocean wave spectra and its role in predictions of sea state and weather. 

The Program will involve cooperation with AARMS, the Bedford Institute of Oceanography (Dartmouth, NS), and the Institute of Ocean Sciences (Sydney, BC).