Dr Michael Raupach’s research investigates changes to climate and land systems resulting from the movement of water, heat, carbon and nutrients between land and atmosphere.
Current activities
Dr Raupach leads the Continental Biogeochemical Cycles Research Team at CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research.
His major research interests include:
-
the movement and storage of heat, water and carbon in landscapes, at local, continental and global scales
-
global and continental change, especially the effects of climate and human land use on the terrestrial cycles of water, heat, carbon and nutrients
-
the global carbon cycle, with a focus on the effects of human activity on the cycle’s natural dynamics
-
model-data synthesis (the combination of models and data to enable each to 'learn' from the other) to better understand global change and manage natural resources
-
fluid mechanics of turbulent flows, especially over rough surfaces (for example, wind over vegetation)
-
wind flows and the spread of windborne materials in the lower atmosphere, especially within vegetation canopies, over hills, around trees and windbreaks, and around bushfires
-
soil erosion by wind, including studies of the windborne transport of solid particles, erosion control by vegetation, and wind erosion and long-term agricultural sustainability.
Background
Dr Raupach joined CSIRO, with the Centre for Environmental Mechanics, Canberra, ACT, Australia, in 1979 as a Research Scientist.
After a period overseas Dr Raupach returned to CSIRO and in 1991 became Program Leader, Atmospheric and Plant Processes with CSIRO's Centre for Environmental Mechanics in Canberra.
He held that position until 1997 and in 1996-97 served as Deputy Head of the Centre for Environmental Mechanics.
In 1997-98 he was the Program Leader of Environmental Processes and Resources at CSIRO Land and Water Division.
From 1998-2002 he worked as a Research Scientist, CSIRO Land and Water.
He was a Science Leader with the CSIRO Earth Observation Centre, 2002-05, and from 2005 to date he has worked as a Research Scientist with CSIRO's Marine and Atmospheric Research Division, including being Leader of the Continental Biogeochemical Cycles Team.
Dr Raupach was also:
-
a Postdoctoral Research Fellow, at the Department of Meteorology, University of Edinburgh, Scotland, 1977-78
-
a Visiting Lecturer, with the Department of Meteorology, at the University of Reading, England in 1986
-
a Research Fellow, with the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, at the University of Cambridge, England, 1986-87.
Since 2001 Dr Raupach has been Co-chair of the Global Carbon Project (GCP), a joint international project on the global carbon cycle sponsored by the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP), the International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Research (IHDP), and the World Climate Research Program.
Academic qualifications
Dr Raupach has been awarded:
-
a Bachelor of Science with Honours from the University of Adelaide, South Australia, in 1971
-
a Doctor of Philosophy from Flinders University of South Australia, in 1976.
Dr Raupach's doctoral thesis was titled Atmospheric flux measurement by eddy correlation.
Achievements
Dr Raupach's achievements include that he was:
-
awarded the Phillips Prize for Physics 1968, 1969, 1970
-
made a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering in 2002.
His membership of international scientific committees and reviews include:
-
Member of the Scientific Steering Committee of the Core Project on Biosphere Aspects of the Hydrological Cycle (BAHC) of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Program (IGBP), 1991-96
-
Member of the Science Panel of the International Satellite-Land Surface Comparison Program (ISLSCP), 1992-94
-
Member of the Australian Academy of Sciences Committee for IGBP, 1993-96
-
Member, Australian Committee for GCOS (Global Climate Observation System), 1996-98
-
Convenor, CSIRO Biosphere Working Group, 1999-present
-
Co-chair, Global Carbon Project (GCP), a joint international project on the global carbon cycle sponsored by the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP), the International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Research (IHDP), and the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP), 2001-present
-
Invited external reviewer for CarboEurope First Year Review, 2005.
Dr Raupach has also:
-
held editorial roles on international scientific journals and books
-
led numerous consultancies within Australia
-
authored or co-authored of more than 100 papers in international scientific journals and over 80 conference papers and technical reports
-
co-edited a textbook on the carbon-climate-human system.
He is also a contributing author of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) Working Group 1 report in 2007.
Find out more about our work on Understanding Climate Change.
Site Map | Legal Notice and Disclaimer | Privacy | Copyright | Last updated: 1 November 2007
