Salman (co-chair on behalf of the WG)

The Surface Waves Working Group brings together expert practitioners from the four pillars of FOO, representing a diverse range of public and private institutions across Australia. Formed following the inaugural FOO meeting in 2015 and formally convened in early 2016, the group was established to address key challenges identified at FOO 2015, initially focussing on: “errors in swell setup, integration of spectral and phase-resolving models, the role of ocean versus lake observations in source term development, and the influence of shallow water bathymetry on nearshore wave dynamics”.

Since its inception, the group has played a pivotal role in shaping national wind-wave infrastructure and capability priorities, delivering outcomes that have benefited wave data users and marine practitioners. The group’s relevance is underscored by the growing demand for accurate and comprehensive wave data—covering wave heights, directions, periods, and spectra etc.—across marine sectors from a variety of observational infrastructure and modelling capabilities.

This presentation will provide an overview of the group’s membership, objectives, and key outputs, with a focus on recent efforts to coordinate responses to contemporary challenges and opportunities in wind-wave research and applications. It will also summarise the Australia–New Zealand Wind Wave Symposium, held in the two days preceding the FOO meeting, which is organised by several members of the group. A central aim of the symposium is to revisit Australia’s wind-wave research priorities, last surveyed in 2017–18 under the working group’s auspices. Fi

Biography:

Salman Khan is the Research Team Leader of the Sea-level, Waves, and Remote Sensing team at the Climate Intelligence Program at CSIRO Environment Research Unit. He is an expert in Satellite Remote Sensing by training, and his current roles encompass strategizing, leading, and delivering a broad set of capabilities in ocean waves research and application through leadership of the IMOS Satellite Remote Sensing Surface Waves Sub-facility; co-chairship of the Surface Waves Working Group of FOO; and team leadership at CSIRO. Salman has been with CSIRO since 2018, initially working as the ocean wave remote sensing scientist on Synthetic Aperture Radar technology for the IMOS remote sensing waves sub-facility. Prior to joining CSIRO, Salman has had an extended research career overseas in UK and USA at the Universities of Surrey and Exeter (UK) and University of Central Florida (USA) where he also completed his PhD and MSc degrees.