Meteorology and the polar ocean
Sverdrup assisted meteorologist Vilhelm Bjerknes and earned a doctorate in 1917 for work on North Atlantic trade winds. In 1918 he joined Amundsen’s Maud expedition as chief scientist, observing the ocean and atmosphere during extended Arctic voyages.
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Scripps and teaching
As Scripps director from 1936 to 1948, he organised studies of the California Current and integrated physical, chemical, biological and geological oceanography in teaching. With Martin Johnson and Richard Fleming, he published The Oceans: Their Physics, Chemistry and General Biology in 1942.
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Wind and currents
He used vorticity balance to investigate wind-driven ocean circulation and developed wave-forecasting methods with Walter Munk. The transport unit sverdrup honours him: one Sv is one million cubic metres per second.
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