About

Oliver Fringer is a Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and of Oceans at Stanford University. His research focuses on the development and application of numerical models and high-performance computational techniques to study fundamental processes that influence the dynamics of the coastal ocean, rivers, lakes, and estuaries. He holds a PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Stanford University, obtained in 2003, a Master of Science in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Stanford University, earned in 1996, and a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Princeton University, completed in 1995.

Research topics

• Physics
• Computer Science
• Oceanography
• Geology
• Thermodynamics
• Astrobiology
• Materials science
• Engineering
• Geodesy
• Environmental science
• Aerospace engineering
• Mechanics
• Astronomy

Selected publications

• On the application of the two-time stepping Euler forward Runge-Kutta schemes to the shallow water equations: Global truncation error, numerical viscosity, consistency, energy conservation, inertial stability and phase error

  Ocean Modelling · 2026-04-14

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Dataset supporting to the paper "Energetics of Internal Solitary Waves Interacting with a Conical Island"

  Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2026-02-18 · 1 citations

  datasetOpen access

  This dataset accompanies the manuscript on three‑dimensional, field‑scale internal wave interactions with a conical island, with Shuwen Tan as the first author. The dataset includes the source code (model.zip) and model input files (input.zip) used for the SUNTANS simulations in this study. Because the full raw model output is too large to archive, two reduced datasets are provided. These contain SUNTANS NetCDF output files with energy diagnostics and barotropic velocities for simulations conducted with and without rotation, as described in the manuscript. The energy diagnostics are computed online within SUNTANS using energy.c and subsequently cropped to regions surrounding the conical island. MATLAB routines for generating model input files, along with Jupyter notebooks used for data analysis and figure generation, are included in data_processing_routine.zip.

  PublisherDOI

• Dataset supporting to the paper "Energetics of Internal Solitary Waves Interacting with a Conical Island"

  Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2026-02-18

  datasetOpen access

  This dataset accompanies the manuscript on three‑dimensional, field‑scale internal wave interactions with a conical island, with Shuwen Tan as the first author. The dataset includes the source code (model.zip) and model input files (input.zip) used for the SUNTANS simulations in this study. Because the full raw model output is too large to archive, two reduced datasets are provided. These contain SUNTANS NetCDF output files with energy diagnostics and barotropic velocities for simulations conducted with and without rotation, as described in the manuscript. The energy diagnostics are computed online within SUNTANS using energy.c and subsequently cropped to regions surrounding the conical island. MATLAB routines for generating model input files, along with Jupyter notebooks used for data analysis and figure generation, are included in data_processing_routine.zip.

  PublisherDOI

• Ocean dynamics in 2025: overview and thank you to reviewers

  Ocean Dynamics · 2026-01-23

  articleOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Dynamics, Mixing, and Sediment Transport in the Near -Field of Freshwater Plumes

  2026-03-14

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Freshwater plumes generated by small rivers play a signficant role in coastal processes. In glacially fed systems, such as those found in Patagonia, strong buoyancy forcing and turbulence produce sharp density interfaces and complex flow structures that regulate plume spreading and vertical exchange. Understanding the physical mechanisms controlling mixing and sediment transport in these environments is essential for linking small-scale turbulence to larger-scale coastal processes.We present results from direct numerical simulations (DNS) of freshwater plumes discharging into denser ambient fluid under subcritical and supercritical conditions. The simulations resolve the 3D coherent structures, capturing the development of interfacial instabilities and vortical motions that control entrainment and mixing efficiency. We show that plume dynamics transition between regimes dominated by shear-driven instabilities and large-scale overturning, with distinct implications for vertical density fluxes and plume thickness.We also explore the influence of suspended sediment on plume dynamics, focusing on how particle settling modifies turbulence, alters effective vertical transport, and feeds back on interfacial structure. The interactions of sediment transport with stratified turbulence significantly affect near-field plume evolution. These results provide new physical insights into mixing and transport in buoyancy-driven flows and help bridge idealized turbulence studies with the behavior of natural glacial river plumes in coastal environments.This work has been supported by ONR-Global grant N62909-23-1-2004.

  PublisherDOI

• Climate‐Driven Stratification Intensifies Internal Wave Cooling on a Shallow Island Reef

  Geophysical Research Letters · 2025-07-11 · 3 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Abstract As ocean temperatures rise, understanding the cooling role of internal waves is crucial for reef preservation. Climate‐induced surface warming increases stratification, altering internal wave propagation. We use high‐resolution, nonhydrostatic simulations at Dongsha Atoll in the South China Sea to explore seasonal bottom temperature changes affecting benthic ecosystems for climate scenario SSP5‐8.5 for 2020 and 2100. Our findings show internal waves transport cooler, deeper waters into shallow areas, reducing warming by up to 2.3°C relative to conditions without waves. Enhanced stratification and internal tide forcing in a warmer, more strongly stratified ocean increases wave‐driven cooling by up to 0.5°C in shallow zones. Variability in bottom temperature are also enhanced by up to 4.5°C. However, net warming by 2100 is projected at up to 2.8°C in shallow areas and 0.9°C in deeper regions. Areas with strong internal wave activity could serve as thermal refugia, despite overall trends pointing to continued ocean warming.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• The 13th international workshop on modeling the ocean (IWMO) in Hamburg, Germany, 27–30 June 2023

  Ocean Dynamics · 2025-11-01 · 1 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• The Influence of Horizontal Dispersion on Residence Times in Shallow Lakes

  Water Resources Research · 2025-02-01

  articleOpen access

  Abstract This study presents results of circulation and residence time in lakes influenced by wind‐induced mixing investigated with numerical simulations. The study area is Lake Kasumigaura, a continuous lake system primally consisting of two lakes, West Lake and North Lake. Although metrological conditions and depths are similar for both lakes, the surface area and shape of the lakes are very different. A numerical model resolves the primary features of the wind‐driven circulation in the lake system and is forced by observed river discharges and wind stress. A passive tracer released from the river mouths is used to estimate the residence time and evaluate mixing processes. Wind‐driven flow dominates the kinetic energy in the lakes and induces chaotic motions leading to tracer dispersion which is largely influenced by the shape of the lakes. Results indicate that the residence time is much longer in the well‐mixed middle basin of West Lake than North Lake. The estimated horizontal tracer diffusivity is approximately three times larger for the large West Lake than for the small‐narrow North Lake. This study suggests that the surface area and shape of lakes in which the flow is predominantly wind driven largely influences circulation, water exchange processes and residence times in lakes.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• A Large-Eddy Simulation Study in WRF on Wind over Broadband Waves of Different Directions and Spreading Widths

  Monthly Weather Review · 2025-05-30

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Abstract We use the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model coupled with moving waves to conduct large-eddy simulations (LESs) of wind over broadband waves with different propagating directions and spreading widths. Our results show that wind-opposing waves can double the form drag, and the wave propagating direction affects the mean wind velocity, velocity variances, and pressure stress. On the other hand, waves with wider spread tend to reduce the form drag in the streamwise direction. Results further indicate that the wave direction can impact the bulk drag coefficient by as much as 25%, while the wave directional spreading width can change it by 5%. Based on our wave-phase-resolved simulations, we demonstrate that the parameterization of sea surface roughness is significantly influenced by the direction of wave propagation relative to the wind, a factor that the commonly used Charnock relation does not account for.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Modeling of wind-driven circulation of schistosome larvae in a vegetated side pond

  Environmental Fluid Mechanics · 2025-02-18 · 2 citations

  articleOpen access

  Schistosomiasis, a debilitating parasitic disease of poverty affecting more than 250 million people worldwide, is contracted upon contact with the larval form of the parasite, known as cercaria, emerging from infected freshwater snails, the obligate intermediate host of the parasite. Understanding how infectious larvae can be transported in rivers and irrigation canals is crucial to fine-tune environmental interventions targeting the parasite and its intermediate host. Specifically, lateral cavities along many tropical rivers act as water access points but can also entrap parasitic larvae and provide low-velocity environments for snail-supporting vegetation to flourish, creating potential areas of high schistosomiasis infection. In this paper, the circulation of larvae in a typical transmission site along the Lampsar River in Senegal is modeled under a range of wind and vegetation conditions to better understand how such environmental factors affect their transport. We found that wind direction has a large influence on the distribution and abundance of parasitic larvae at the water access point, whereas increasing wind speed scales velocities but does not affect flow patterns. The area of coverage of vegetation can significantly alter flow magnitudes and circulation patterns for the same wind speed and direction. Increasing vegetation coverage generally leads to an increase in larvae residence time in the side pond, but the relationship is non-monotonic with five regimes of residence time behavior based on vegetation patch radius. The results suggest that there is an optimal patch radius at which larvae residence time and velocity deviations within the side pond are maximized.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• Collaborative Research: Improved observation and parameterization of bottom boundary layer turbulence and particle properties for sediment fate and transport modeling

  NSF · $1.4M · 2017–2022

Frequent coauthors

• Eiji Masunaga

  Ibaraki University

  59 shared

• Stephen G. Monismith

  Stanford University

  58 shared

• Hidekatsu Yamazaki

  Sun Yat-sen University

  55 shared

• Yujiro Kitade

  Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology

  50 shared

• Scott M. Gallager

  49 shared

• Robert S. Arthur

  Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

  32 shared

• Ruo‐Qian Wang

  Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

  28 shared

• Adrian Wing‐Keung Law

  27 shared

Education

• Ph.D., Civil and Environmental Engineering

  Stanford University

  2000

• M.S., Civil and Environmental Engineering

  Stanford University

  1996

• B.S., Civil Engineering

  University of California, Berkeley

  1994