The Centre for Mathematics of Planet Earth is hosting a workshop on optimal transport in atmosphere and ocean problems at the University of Reading, UK. The workshop will review recent developments in the field and will feature a crash course on optimal transport theory and related numerical methods, given by David Bourne.

Optimal transport (OT) offers a robust theoretical and numerical framework for many problems relating to weather and climate. It defines a natural metric for use in data assimilation and forecast verification, and it is the theoretical underpinning of energy minimisation problems that are central to idealised models of the atmosphere and ocean. Efficient numerical OT solvers have paved the way for the effective application of OT methods to real data. The goal of this workshop is to review recent developments in this field, to scope out potential future applications, and to generate new collaborations by introducing OT and its relevance in atmosphere and ocean problems to a broader audience.

Dates: Monday 13th April (10:30 arrival, 11:00 start) - Tuesday 14th April (15:00 end) 2026

Location: Room 1L61, Department of Meteorology, Brian Hoskins Building, University of Reading, Reading, UK

Registration: sign up using this form.

Deadline for registration: Monday 9th March

Contact: guannan.hu@reading.ac.uk, c.egan@reading.ac.uk

Organisers: Charlie Egan, John Methven, Guannan Hu