DUNEX PostDoc Spotlight: Dr. Drude Fritzb?ger Christensen

Dr. Drude Fritzb?ger Christensen is from Denmark and has a Master’s Degree in Physical Geography and a PhD entitled “Surf Zone Turbulence and Sediment Dynamics”. Both degrees were obtained at the University of Copenhagen. “I’m currently working as a “Villum International PostDoc”, a grant aimed at supporting the advancement of talented female researchers within natural science,” she stated.

Christensen is affiliated with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), MA, and the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. She became interested in the During Nearshore Field Experiment (DUNEX) at the Outerbanks of North Carolina because it brings “a diverse group of scientists together to study a variety of processes related to the coastal zone from surf zone currents, over mixing of infiltrated run-up and groundwater, to aeolian sediment transport and the relationship to ecological conditions,” she stated.

Participating in the DUNEX field campaign for seven weeks working with her PI, Dr. Britt Ruabenheimer and colleagues from WHOI (PI Steve Elgar, Levi Gorrel, Ciara Dooley, and Jinshu Chen), Christensen brought extensive knowledge on surf zone hydrodynamics.?She also has strong knowledge in sediment transport with experience conducting field work based on experiments in Denmark and Australia.?Her previous work has been primarily on in-situ field data.

Dr. Drude Fritzb?ger Christensen adjusting the elevation of an array 
of instruments measuring flow velocities when submerged during 
hightide and wave run-up.        

“Growing up in Denmark which is 228 times smaller than the US (area wise) but having a coastline equivalent to 1/3 of the US coastline naturally induced a fascination for the coast. Therefore, it only required a first-year bachelor course in field methods with the person who later became my PhD supervisor, Professor Troels Aagaard, to extend my fascination into a desire of understanding the underlying processes of beach existence and evolution,” she elaborated.

When asked how she would try to get future generations to get involved in finding solutions facing our coastline, Christensen stated, “I think hands-on experiences are a valuable tool for generating interest in coastal science as for many other subjects. Let people experience the coast, not only on a sunny summer day with calm wave conditions building up the beach, but also during a winter storm where strong forces are at work causing shoreline erosion, and the noise from the breaking waves are frightening. With more than 40 % of the world’s population living within 100 km of the coast, it should be a feasible task to bring awareness to the importance of coastal science. However, I think applying a multi-disciplinary approach can be vital in order to make people understand the connection between specific coastal processes and things of importance in their everyday life. If you are not facing the threat of a flooded house, maybe you have an interest in the biodiversity of the coastal zone habitat, or in sand as a resource which is getting more and more limited.”?She concluded, “It is all interconnected.”