Paul Branson is a Coastal Oceanographer with CSIRO Environment and adjunct Research Fellow at The University of Western Australia.

After completing undergraduate studies in Computer Science and Ocean Systems Engineering, Paul worked as a consulting coastal engineer in the private sector for 7 years before joining CSIRO in 2016. Paul has a wide range of professional experience in the application of coastal data and numerical models for the assessment of dredging plume dispersion, extreme waves, tropical cyclones, inundation and coastal erosion. Paul developed Monte Carlo cyclone track systems for the assessment of long return interval storm tide and erosion assessments for tropical Australia, spectral transfer functions for efficient propagation of phase resolving models into ports and data management systems for multi-disciplinary environmental monitoring projects.

Paul completed a PhD studying upwelling in shallow island wake flows. This was undertaken at laboratory scale and involved the design and construction of a shallow tidal flow flume and three-dimensional particle imaging velocimetry system to obtain full flow field velocity measurements of the complex, unsteady circulation that occurs around islands.

Since joining CSIRO Paul has delivered a detailed hindcast study of passive dredging plume dispersion during a large capital dredging project as part of the Western Australian Marine Science Institute Dredging Science node. The outcomes of this study have been delivered through various reports and further dissemination of the study outcomes is in progress to assist in industry uptake.

Currently Paul works on remote sensing of littoral zone processes using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and satellites. Currently researching methods to estimate waves, currents, bathymetry and water-levels to inform operational oceanography as well as their interactions with coastal ecosystems.