Johann Reinder Erlers Lutjeharms (13 April 1944 - 8 June 2011), was a leading South African marine scientist and an authority in the oceanography of the Agulhas Current, who authored a definitive work on the subject, The Agulhas Current (Springer 2006).
He became the Chair of Ocean Climatology at the University of Cape Town in 1990 and, in 1993, became the founding director of UCT's Centre for Marine Studies.
He coined the term ‘Natal pulse’ in 1988 to describe a large offshore meander in the Agulhas Current originating near Durban.
[4] Lutjeharms was a recipient of South Africa's highest honour, the Order of Mapungubwe (Silver)(2010), for his contribution to and achievements in oceanographic science.
Lutjeharms died at his home in Stellenbosch, aged 67, on World Oceans Day, 8 June 2011, after a 10-year battle with cancer.