Ocean Dynamics - In Memoriam: Prof. Dr. Jörg-Olaf Wolff (1959-2023)

 

With great sadness we announce the passing of Prof. Dr. Jörg-Olaf Wolff, the “founding father” of the journal Ocean Dynamics (ODYN) and its Editor-in-Chief for 20 years. He was the head of Physical Oceanography at the Institute of Chemistry and Biology of the Sea (ICBM) at Oldenburg University, Germany. He was an internationally recognized scientist, editor, teacher, and admired colleague and friend for many.

Wolff held a doctorate degree in physical oceanography, meteorology, and physics from the University of Hamburg. He led important research activities over many years at various institutions, including the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology in Hamburg, the University of Oldenburg, the Cooperative Research Centre for the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Environment in Hobart, Australia, the University of Southern Queensland in Toowoomba, Australia, and Shanghai Ocean University, China, which awarded him a Chair Professor title for promoting cooperation between Germany and China.

Wolff’s research spans over a wide range of topics, including numerical modelling of ocean currents, ocean-atmosphere interactions, and coastal oceanography. He was involved in the development of the Hamburg Ocean Primitive Equation model (HOPE) and conducted research on various seas, with especially important contributions to studies of the Southern Ocean and Antarctica, as well as studies of Arctic regions, the North Sea, and the German Bight. He recently coordinated the research network "Macroplastics in the Southern North Sea", an interdisciplinary collaboration research of sources and pathways of plastic waste and potential strategies to reduce impacts on the ocean.

In 2001, Jörg Wolff, together with Dirk Olbers, led the efforts to convert the German language Journal of Hydrography (published since 1948) into the international journal Ocean Dynamics. Wolff served as ODYN Editor-in-Chief until 2021; during his tenure the journal increased its popularity and impact, making it one of the leading oceanographic journals of the Springer-Nature publishing network. For many years Wolff coordinated the "Georg Wüst Prize" sponsored by Ocean Dynamics and the German Society for Marine Research (DGM); Wolff had been chairman and vice-chairman of the DGM for several years since 2001.

Prof. Wolff’s colleagues, students, friends, and family mourn the loss of a great scientist and a wonderful human being with an unforgettable sense of humor.

Tal Ezer, Editor-in-Chief of Ocean Dynamics.

Acknowledgement. These notes are on behalf of and with contributions from Wolff’s long-term colleagues at Ocean Dynamics, including Emil Stanev, Sandro Carniel, Amin Chabchoub, Ron Doering, Richard Greatbatch, Gao Guaping, Hellen Phillips, Pierre Lermusiaux, Yasumasa Miyazawa, Dirk Olbers, Alejandro Orfila, Christoph Voelker, and the rest of the ODYN editors and the Springer-Nature team.