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Robin Robertson

China-ASEAN College of Marine Sciences

Robin.jpg
Robin Robertson

Current Position:
Adjunct Professor

Office:
A5-115

Telephone:
+60-0172101844

Email:
robin.robertson@xmu.edu.my

Biography

Adjunct Professor Robin Robertson is a physical oceanographer with extensive research and teaching experience spanning over four decades across the United States, Germany, Australia, China, and Malaysia. Her expertise lies in tidal and internal wave dynamics, ocean mixing processes, and climate–ocean interactions.
She has served at institutions such as Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, the University of New South Wales (Australia), and Xiamen University Malaysia. Prof. Robertson is internationally recognized for her contributions to developing ocean model parameterizations, particularly for the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS).
She has been actively involved in global ocean science leadership roles, including serving as Secretary General of the Asia Oceania Geosciences Society (AOGS) and as a member of the Ocean Observations Panel for Climate.

Research Interest

  • Physical oceanography and ocean mixing processes

  • Internal tides and baroclinic dynamics

  • Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) development

  • Climate change impacts on polar and tropical ocean systems

  • Antarctic and Indonesian seas circulation and stratification

Educational Background

  • Ph.D. in Physical Oceanography – Oregon State University, 1999

  • M.S. in Ocean Engineering – University of Rhode Island, 1982

  • B.S. in Oceanography – Florida Institute of Technology, 1977

Working Experience

  • Adjunct Professor - Xiamen University Malaysia (2022–present)

  • Professor - Xiamen University Malaysia (2017–2022)

  • Professor (Part-time) - Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, China (2017)

  • Senior Lecturer / Lecturer - University of New South Wales, Australia (2006–2017)

  • Associate Research Scientist - Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, USA (2002–present)

  • Postdoctoral Researcher - Alfred-Wegener-Institut, Germany (2001)

  • Ocean Engineer - Ocean Research and Engineering / Tekmarine Inc., USA (1988–1991)

Research Experience

  • Prof. Robertson has led and collaborated on numerous international ocean modeling and observational studies, focusing on internal tide generation, tidal mixing, and the role of ocean stratification in heat transport.
  • She has contributed to the development of improved vertical mixing parameterizations for use in ROMS and led studies investigating tidal and wind-driven mixing in the Antarctic, Indonesian, and Australian waters.

Representative Publications

  1. Xu, Z., P.W. Z, J. You, Z. J. Hao, Bsyin, yjhou, R. Robertson (2023) [0] Satellite Observed Multisource Internal Tide Radiation and Interference in the Banda Sea, J. Geophys. Res. Oceans, doi.org/10.1029/2022JC019383.
  2. Robertson, R., C. Zhao, W. Wang, Z. Xu, and Z. Liu (2023) [0] A Case Study off the Tiwi Islands and the Coburg Peninsula:Baroclinic on one side and Barotropic on the Other, Progress in Ocean., 216, 103057, doi:10.1016/j-pocean.2023.203057.
  3. Wang, Y. Z. Xu, Q. Li, Z. Chen, J. You, B. Yin, R. Robertson (2023) [0] Observed Internal Tides in the Deep Northwestern Pacific by ARGO Floats, Deep-Sea Res. Part II, 207, 105248, doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2022.105248.
  4. Min, W., Q. Li, Z. Xu, Y. Wang, D. Li, R. Robertson, and B. Yin (2023) [1] High-Resolution, non-hydrostatic Simulation of Internal Tides and Solitary Waves in the southern East China Sea, Ocean Modeling, 181, doi.org/10.1016/j.ocemod.2022.102141.
  5. Robertson, R. (2023) [0] Tidal and Internal Tidal Impacts in the Tasman Sea, Geoscience Letters, doi:/10.1186/s40562-023-00262-1.
  6. Liu, C., Z. Wang, R. Robertson, C. Cheng, X. Liang, Y. Wu, X. Li, Y. Liu, and X. Yuan (2022) [0] On the Tidal Currents Observed by Moorings in Prydz Bay, East Antarctica, Authorea Preprints, doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2022.105143.
  7. You, J., Z. Xu, P. Zhang, X. Hu, G. Liao, B. Yin, R. Robertson (2022) [0] Mixing in the Philippine Sea: Geography Variability and Parameterization, Deep-Sea  Res. II, 202, 10543, doi.
  8. Wang, W., R. Robertson, Y. Wang, C. Zhao, Z. Hao, B. Yin, and Z. Xu (2022) [1] Distinct Variability between Semidiurnal and Diurnal Internal Tides at the East China Sea Shelf, Remote Sensing, 14(10), 2570, doi.org/10.3390/rs14112570.
  9. Zhang, P., Z. Xu, Q. Li, J. You, B. Yin, R. Robertson, Q. Zheng (2022) [3] Numerical Simulations of Internal Solitary Wave Evolution Beneath an Ice Keel, J. of Geophys. Res. – Oceans, 127, doi:10.1029/2020JC017068.
  10. You, J. Z. Xu, R. Robertson, Q. Li, and B. Yin (2021) [1] Geographical inhomogeneity and temporal variability of mixing properties and driving mechanisms in the Arctic Ocean, J. of Ocean. and Limnol., doi: 10.1007/s00343-021-1037-6.
  11. You, J., Z. Xu, Q. Li, R. Robertson, P. Zhang, amd B. Yin, (2021) [7] Enhanced internal tidal mixing in the Philippine Sea mesoscale environment, Nonlinear Processes in Geophysics, doi:10.5194/npg-28-271-2021.
  12. Zhao, C., Z. Xu, R. Robertson, Q. Li, Y. Wang, and B. Yin (2021) [15]  The three-dimensional internal tide radiation and dissipation in the Mariana Arc-Trench system, J. Geophys. Res. Oceans, doi: 10.1029/2020JC016502.
  13. Robertson, R. (2020) [1] Climate’s Role in Shifting Spheres, Kybernetics, doi:10.1108/K-05-2020-0326
  14. Robertson, R., and C. M. Dong (2019) [13] An evaluation of the performance of vertical mixing parameterizations for tidal mixing in the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS), Geoscience Letters, 6 (15), doi:10.1186/s40562-019-0146-y.
  15. Newman, L., P. Heil, R. Trebilco, K. Katsumata, A. Constable, E. van Wijk, K. Assmann, J. Beja, P. Bricher, R. Coleman, D. Costa, S. Diggs, R. Farneti, S. Fawcett, S. Gille, K. R. Hendry, S. Henley, E. Hoffman, T. Maksym, M. Mazloff, A. Meijers, M. Meredith, S Moreau, B. Ozsoy, R. Robertson, I. Scholss, O. Schofield, . Shi, E. Sikes, I. J. Smith, S. Swart, A. Wahlin, G. Williams, M. J. M. Williams, L. Herraiz-Borreguero, S. Kern, J. Lieser, R. Massom, J. Melbourne-Thomas, P. Miloslavich, and G. Spreen (2019) [72] Delivering Sustained, Coordinated, and Integrated Observations of the Southern Ocean for Global Impact, Frontiers in Marine Science, doi: 10.3389/fmars.2019.00433.
  16. Dong, J., R. Robertson, C. Dong, P. S. Hartlipp, T. Zhou, Z. Shao, W. Lin, M. Zhou, and J. Chen (2019) [13] Impacts of mesoscale currents on the diurnal critical latitude dependence of internal tides: A numerical experiment based on Barcoo Seamount, J. Geophys. Res. Oceans, doi: 10.1029/2018JC014413
  17. Jendersie, S., M. J. M. Williams, P. J. Langhorne, and R. Robertson (2018) [37] The density-driven winter intensification of the Ross Sea circulation, J. Geophys. Res. Oceans, doi:10.1029/2018JC013965.
  18. Boettger, D., G. Brassington, and R. Robertson (2018) [1] Verification of the Mixed Layer Depth in the OceanMAPS operational forecast model for Austral autumn, Geoscientific Model Development, DOI: 10.5194/gmd-11-3795-2018.
  19. Smith, M., S. Stammerjohn, O. Persson, L. Rainville, G. Liu, W. Perrie, J. Thomson, and R. Robertson (2018) [47] Episodic reversal of autumn ice advance caused by release of ocean heat in the Beaufort Sea, J. Geophys. Res. Oceans, doi: 10.1002/2018JC013764.
  20. Robertson, R., and P. Hartlipp (2017) [10] Surface Wind Mixing in the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS), Geoscience Letters, 4 (24), doi: 10.1186/s40562-017-0090-7.
  21. Robertson, R., J. Dong, and P. Hartlipp (2017) [24] Diurnal Critical Latitude and the Latitude Dependence of Internal Tides, Internal Waves and Mixing, J. Geophys. Res. Oceans. doi:  10.1002/2016jc012591.
  22. Hibiya, T., T. Ijichi, and R. Robertson, (2017) [20] The impacts of ocean bottom roughness and tidal flow amplitude on abyssal mixing, J. Geophys. Res. Oceans, doi: 10.1002/2016C012564.
  23. Roughan, M., Keating, S. R., Schaeffer, A., Cetina Heredia, P., Rocha, C., Griffin, D., Robertson, R. and Suthers, I.M. (2017) ) [62] A tale of two eddies: The biophysical characteristics of two contrasting cyclonic eddies in the East Australian Current System, J. Geophys. Res. Oceans. doi:10.1002/2016JC012241.
  24. Robertson, R. (2016) [0] Outflow from under the Pine Island Bay Ice Shelf: Fine Scale Structure and its Temporal Variability, Advances in Polar Science, 27, 245-263.
  25. Schaeffer, A. M. Roughan, T. Austin, J. D. Everett, D. Griffin, B. Hollings, E. King, A. Montovanelli, S. Milburn, B. Pasquer, C. Pattiaratchi, R. Robertson, D. Stanley, I. Suthers, and D. White (2016) [16] Mean hydrography on the continental shelf from 26 repeat glider deployments along Southeastern Australia, Scientific Data, doi:10.1038/sdata.2016.70.
  26. Woodham, R.H., O. Alves, G. B. Brassington, and R. Robertson (2015) [3] Evaluation of ocean forecast performance for Royal Australian Navy exercise areas in the Tasman Sea, J. of Operational Oceanography, doi:10.1080/1755876X.2015.1087187.
  27. Randall-Gooodwin, E., M. P. Meredith, A. Jenkins, P.I.Yager, R.M. Sherrell, E. P. Abrahamsen, R. Guerrero, X. Yuan, R. A. Mortlock, K. Gavahan, A.-C. Alderkamp, H. Ducklow, R. Robertson, and S. Stammerjohn (2015) [60] Freshwater distributions and water mass structure in the Amundsen Sea Polynya region, Antarctica, Elementa: Science of the Antrhopocene,  doi: 10.12952/journal.elementa.000065.
  28. Boettger, D., R. Robertson, L. Rainville (2015) [16] Characterising the semidiurnal internal tide off Tasmania using glider data, J. Geophys. Res. Oceans, doi:10.1002/2015JC1071.
  29. Woodham, R., G. B. Brassington, R. Robertson, O. Alves (2013) [39] Propagation characteristics of coastally trapped waves on the Australian continental shelf during 2009, J. Geophys. Res. Oceans, 118, 1-13, doi:10.1002jgrc.20317.
  30. Robertson, R. (2013) [44] Tidally induced increases in melting of Amundsen Sea ice shelves, J. Geophys Res. Oceans, 118, 1-8, doi:10.1002/jgrc.20236.
  31. Hibiya, T., N. Furuichi, and R. Robertson (2012) [27] Assessment of fine-scale parameterizations of turbulent dissipations rates near mixing hotspots in the deep ocean, Geophys. Res. Lett.,39, L24601; doi:10.1029/2012GL054068.
  32. Robertson, R., (2011) [19] Interactions between tides and other frequencies in the Indonesian Seas, Ocean Dynamics, 61, 69-88, doi:10.1007/s10236-010-0343x.
  33. Robertson, R. (2010) [29] Tidal Currents and mixing at the INSTANT mooring locations, Dynamics of Atmospheres and Oceans, 50, 331-373.
  34. Robertson, R. (2010) [0] Are the deep waters of the Weddell Sea still warming?, Chap 4. in Climate Change Monitoring and Strategy, eds. J. You and A. Henderson-Smith, Sydney Univ. Press, 111-141.
  35. You, Y, T Rossby, W Zenk, AG Ilahude, M Fukasawa, R Davis, D Hu, D Susanto, PL Richardson, C Villanoy, T Liu, JH Lee, R Molcard WW Pandoe, M Koga, T Qu, RA Fine, A Gabric, R Robertson, Y Matsumoto, S Riser, H Hasumi, P Sigray, and T Lee, (2010), [4]  Indonesian Throughflow: PACific Source Water INvestigation (PACSWIN) An international ocean climate program Chap 8. in Climate Change Monitoring and Strategy, eds. J. You and A. Henderson-Smith, Sydney Univ. Press, 238-298.
  36. Ffield, A. and R. Robertson (2008), [21] Temperature finestructure in the Indonesian Seas, J. Geophys. Res. Oceans, 113, C09009, doi:10.1029/2006JC003864.
  37. Robertson, R. and A Ffield (2008), [59] Baroclinic Tides in the Indonesian Seas: Tidal Fields and Comparisons to Observations, J. Geophys. Res. Oceans, doi:10.1029/2007JC004677, 2008.
  38. Robertson, R. (2006), [51] Modeling Internal Tides over Fieberling Guyot: Resolution, Parameterization, Performance, Ocean Dynamics, doi 10.1007/s10236-006-0062-5.
  39. Ffield, A. and R. Robertson (2005), [22] Indonesian Seas finestructure variability, Oceanography, 18, 108-111.
  40. Robertson, R. (2005), [33] Baroclinic and barotropic tides in the Weddell Sea, Antarctic Science, 17, 461-474, doi:10.1017/S0954102005002890.

  41. Robertson, R. and A. Ffield (2005), [73] M2 baroclinic tides in the Indonesian Seas, Oceanography, 18, 62-73, doi: 10.5670/oceanog.2005.06.

  42. Robertson, R. (2005), [29] Baroclinic and barotropic tides in the Ross Sea, Antarctic Science, 17, 107-120.
  43. Robertson, R., A. Beckmann, and H. Hellmer (2003), [32] M2 Tidal dynamics in the Ross Sea, Antarctic Science, 15, 41-46.
  44. Robertson, R., M. Visbeck, A. L. Gordon, and E. Fahrbach (2002), [190] Long-term temperature trends in the deep waters of the Weddell Sea, Deep-Sea Research II, 49, 4791-4806.
  45. Robertson, R. (2001), [5] Internal tides and baroclinicity in the southern Weddell Sea: Part II: Effects of the critical latitude and stratification, J. Geophys. Res. Oceans, 106, 27,017-27,034.
  46. Robertson, R. (2001), [73] Internal tides and baroclinicity in the southern Weddell Sea: Part I: Model description, and comparison of model results to observations, J. Geophys. Res. Oceans, 106, 27,001-27,016.
  47. Robertson, R., L. Padman, and M. D. Levine (2001), [21] A correction to the baroclinic pressure gradient term in the Princeton Ocean Model, J. Atmos. Ocean. Tech., 18, 1068-1075.
  48. Robertson, R. (1999), [3] Mixing and heat transport mechanisms in the upper ocean in the Weddell Sea, PhD thesis, Oregon State University College of Atmospheric and Ocean Sciences.
  49. Robertson, R., L. Padman, and G. D. Egbert (1998), [136] Tides in the Weddell Sea, in Ocean, Ice, and Atmosphere: Interactions at the Antarctic Continental Margin, Antarctic Research Series, 75, 341-369.
  50. Robertson, R., L. Padman, and M. D. Levine (1995), [90] Fine structure, microstructure, and vertical mixing processes in the upper ocean in the western Weddell Sea, J. Geophys. Res. Oceans, 100, 18517-18535.
  51. Robertson, R. and M. Spaulding (1985) [0] A three-dimensional numerical dispersion model for acid-iron waste disposal, in Wastes in the Ocean: Volume 5: Deep sea waste disposal, Wiley Interscience, D. R. Kester, P. K. Park, P. H. Ketchum, and I. W. Duedall (eds.), 125-145.

Peer Reviewed Conference: [citations in Web of Science; SCOPUS; Google Scholar]

  1. Robertson, R and P. Hartlipp) [0;1;0]  (2015) [0;1;0] Acoustic Propagation off Eastern Australia, Australian Acoustical Society Conference Proceedings, Hunter Valley, 15-18 Nov 2015.
  2. Robertson, R., [1;0;1] (2010) Tides, the PIG, and “warm” water, IOP Conf. Ser.: Earth Environ. Sci 11 012002, proceedings for the Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society (AMOS) Conference, Canberra, Australia, January 2010.
  3. Robertson, R., [0;0;1]  (2010) Modeling tide and vertical tidal mixing: A reality check, IOP Conf. Ser.: Earth Environ. Sci 11 012035, proceedings for the Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society (AMOS) Conference, Canberra, Australia, January 2010.
  4. Robertson, R., [0;0;0] Tidal Effects on Circulation and Mixing in the Ombai Strait Region, paper published in the proceedings of the World Ocean Conference, Manado, Indonesia, May 2009.
  5. Robertson, R., [0;0;0] Internal Tides and Mixing in the Indonesian Seas, refereed paper published in proceedings of the International Symposium on Stratified Flows, Perth Australia, Dec. 2006.

Non-Peer Reviewed: [citations in Web of Science; SCOPUS; Google Scholar]

  1. Robertson, R. and P. Hartlipp [1] Tidal effects on acoustic propagation of eastern Australia, Proceedings of Internoise, 2014.
  2. Clements, J. and R.Robertson [1] Acoustic ray propagation in the waters off eastern Australia using ocean glider data, Proceedings of Internoise, 2014.
  3. Robertson, R  Tides, critical latitude and their effects on the Amundsen Sea ice shelves, CLIVAR Exchanges, 62, 31-33, 2013.
  4. Robertson, R., Tidal Effects on Circulation and Mixing in the Ombai Strait Region, paper published in the proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Southern Hemisphere Meteorology and Oceanography, Melbourne, Australia, Feb 2009.
  5. Robertson, R., M. Visbeck, and A. L. Gordon, [2] Long-term Warming of Weddell Sea Warm Deep Water, CLIVAR Exchanges, 6, No. 4, 21-22, 2001.
  6. Robertson, R., [3] Mixing and heat transport mechanisms for the upper water column in the Weddell Sea, Ph.D. Dissertation, College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University, 1999.
  7. Padman, L., R. Robertson, and K. Nicholls, Modeling tides in the southern Weddell Sea: Updated model with new bathymetry from ROPEX,[11] Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf Programme Report No. 12, Alfred-Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, Germany, 1998.

Honors / Awards

  • UNSW Rector’s Teaching Award (2008, 2010)

  • NSF International Research Fellowship (2001)

  • NASA Space Grant Fellowship, Oregon State University (1991–1992)

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