Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience

Research in the field of physical geography and environmental geoscience from the Faculty of Science, University of Melbourne.

Researchers

Patrick Baker     Research on forest dynamics, silviculture, and reconstructing past climates.

Matthew Burns     Studies in the modelling and management of flow regimes from site to catchment.

Matthew Cupper     Interaction of Aboriginal people and arid ecosystems in the interior of Australia.

Barbara Downes     Aquatic ecology research in basic population and community ecology in both freshwater and marine environments.

Russell Drysdale     Palaeoclimatology specialising in reconstructing Earth’s climate history from geochemical signatures preserved in cave deposits.

Brendan Duffy     Studies in the structural development of mountain belts and the implications for seismic hazard and engineering risks.

Florian Dux     Palaeotemperature analysis of carbonates using clumped isotope mass spectrometry to investigate past climate change.

Damien Finch     Radiocarbon dating of Kimberley Rock Art

Michael-Shawn Fletcher     Studies in the long-term interactions between humans, climate, disturbance and vegetation at local, regional and global scales.

Tim Fletcher     Research into the interactions between flow regimes, water quality and stream ecosystems, focusing on the management of urban stormwater – both as a threat to streams and as a potential resource.

Stephen Gallagher     Carboniferous to recent microfossils, sedimentology and stratigraphy to interpret bathymetry and palaeoceanography.

Ralf Haese     Transport and reactions in porous rocks and develop technologies to reduce the risks of geological CO2 storage.

John Hellstrom     Quaternary palaeoclimatology (Quatenary paleoclimate, geochronology, isotope geochemistry, uranium-series, radiogenic isotopes).

Ben Henley     Improving our understanding of climate change and variability at interannual and decadal timescales using instrumental data, multi-proxy palaeoclimate records and global climate models (vicdrip.org).

David Kennedy     Impact of storms, sea level, climate and humans on coastal landforms and environments.

Jasper Kunapo     Distribution rainfall-runoff modelling, methods of quantifying imperviousness, and prediction of urban flooding.

Jill Lancaster     Aquatic ecology research in basic population and community ecology in freshwater environments.

Agathe Lisé-Pronovost     Research in Earth magnetic field past behaviour (paleomagnetism), geochronology, and the applications of magnetism to Archaeology, paleoclimate, and paleoenvironments, with a focus on the Australia region.

Roland Maas     Exploration geochemistry and geodynamics.

Jan-Hendrik May     Studies of the links between the Earth’s surface morphology and Quaternary environmental change.

Sandra McLaren     Research in Lithospheric evolution, Tectonics, crustal growth and differentiation, Stratigraphy, and basin evolution.

Sarah McSweeney     Research on the morphodynamics and evolution of estuaries and beaches in response to changing environmental conditions.

Chloe Morris     Numerical modelling of the medium-to long-term geomorphological behaviour of coastal environments.

Petter Nyman     Studies in forest hydrology and landscape change with a focus on sediment transport, micrometeorology and fire.

Bence Paul     Research into the fundamentals of laser ablation-ICPMS, including data processing and software, for a range of applications including geological and biological samples.

Amy Prendergast     Studies in palaeoclimatology and archaeology through high-resolution climate and environmental reconstruction, human-environment interaction and natural hazards.

Mark Quigley     Earthquake geology, paleoseismology, active tectonics, geological hazard analyses, with an emphasis on applied research relevant to urban environments and critical infrastructure.

Rebecca Runting     Spatial planning for ecosystem services and climate change adaptation, ecological economics, and transboundary conservation.

Ian Rutherfurd     River processes and management, particularly fluvial geomorphology, including sediment transport, hydrology and hydraulics.

Louise Shewan     Archaeological Science, bioarchaeology, isoscapes, provenance studies.

Kale Sniderman     Environmental change over Cenozoic to historical time frames including orbital forces of Southern Hemisphere Plio-Pleistocene climates, and the Cenozoic evolution of Australasian climes and vegetation.

Anne-Marie Tosolini     Fossil plant biodiversity and ecosystem responses to changing environments and climates, during the Cretaceous-Cenozoic.

Malcolm Wallace     Late Proterozoic climates (Snowball Earth, glaciation), late Neogene Murray Basin (strandlines, Lake Bungunnia), neotectonics of Southeastern Australia (uplift, Eastern Highlands, Murray Basin).

Tim Werner     The impacts of mining through the use of GIS, remote sensing and big data analysis.

Jon Woodhead     Application of isotope and trace element geochemistry to problems in the Earth and environmental sciences, with particular emphasis on technique development and innovation.

Research centres

Environmental Microbiology Research Initiative
How environmental microorganisms influence ecosystem and human health, change the chemistry of the planet, respond to impacts of industrial contamination and climate change, and new biotechnologies.

National Centre for Coasts and Climate (NCCC)
Working to identify the best ways of addressing climate change impacts in Australian coastal ecosystems.

Research in this area is conducted in the School of Earth Sciences, School of Geography and School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences.