I do much of my research sitting at home in a comfortable chair and maybe having a drink. The greatest disadvantage is that I have very little control over what I teach nowadays. The courses I have to give are now prescribed by administrators. The atmosphere and the ocean act together to maintain our climate. Understanding how our climate varies over decades or how it changes over the next century is impossible without understanding the ocean.
Oceanographers now understand the oceanic circulation much better than ten years ago.
I contributed to that improvement of our understanding by measuring and describing major current systems and observing and explaining how water masses from different parts of the world ocean mix. We need to understand what controls our climate and to what degree human activity impacts on it. I hope to have retired from my university position and can concentrate on oceanographic research as an Emeritus Professor. I also hope to be able to teach graduate students in topics of my own choice. If you wish to ask Matthias for additional information, you can email UniServe Science and we will contact Matthias for you.