Dr Kelvin Michael

Senior Lecturer, Institute of Antarctic and Southern Ocean Studies and ACE CRC

Kelvin completed a PhD in remote sensing / oceanography at the University of Tasmania in 1988. In 1991 he gained a teaching position at IASOS, specialising in physics and remote sensing. His research interests in terms of sea ice include measurements of ultraviolet radiation fluxes above and below both fast and pack ice, as well as the integration of remotely-sensed data to assist with the interpretation of physical properties of sea ice. Kelvin has made 5 previous voyages to Antarctica with the Australian program, and is one of a small number of people to lose a torpedo underneath the Antarctic pack ice. Kelvin has also worked on the interpretation of large-scale ocean properties as they relate to foraging of Southern Ocean mammals, as well as upper/mid-atmospheric processes over the Antarctic and the interaction with solar protons.

On this voyage, Kelvin and Jane Higgins will deploy a PUV radiometer to measure the transmission of pack and and its snow cover. This information will be incorporated into models of sub-surface UV irradiance being developed by Jane for her PhD project. The PUV radiometer has most recently been used for field work at Heron Island in the Great Barrier Reef, and Kelvin has also braved the tropical conditions to make measurements of the UV attenuation properties of those waters.

At IASOS, Kelvin is involved in teaching at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and also holds the role of graduate research coordinator, overseeing the activities and progress of the 67 research students affiliated with the ACE CRC.

Outside the work environment, Kelvin enjoys playing golf and table tennis. He and his wife Louise also spend time walking Blizzard, their energetic kelpie/labrador cross.