(Vagn) Walfrid Ekman

Oceanographer, born in Stockholm, Sweden. He began making contributions to oceanography while still a student at Uppsala University, with a report (1902) explaining why drift ice movement diverged from wind direction. After working at the International Laboratory for Oceanographic Research in Oslo (1902–8), he was appointed professor of mathematical physics at Lund (1910–39). He designed several instruments for investigating ocean currents, and his name is remembered in the common oceanographic terms Ekman layer and Ekman spiral.

Born in Stockholm to Fredrik Laurentz Ekman, himself an oceanographer, he became committed to oceanography while studying physics at the University of Uppsala and, in particular, on hearing Vilhelm Bjerknes lecture on fluid dynamics. Bjerknes invited Ekman, still a student, to investigate the problem and, in 1905, Ekman published his theory of the Ekman spiral which explains the phenomenon in terms of the balance between frictional effects in the ocean and the fictitious forces arising from planetary rotation.

On completing his doctorate in Uppsala in 1902, Ekman joined the International Laboratory for Oceanographic Research, Oslo where he worked for seven years, not only extending his theoretical work but also developing experimental techniques and instruments such as the Ekman current meter and Ekman water bottle.

From 1910 to 1939 he continued his theoretical and experimental work at the University of Lund, where he was professor of mechanics and mathematical physics.