Dr Eric Wolanski
Water Quality scientist
Email: eric.wolanski@jcu.edu.au
Phone: 07 4781 4191
Dr. Eric Wolanski, PhD, DSc, FTSE, FIE Aust, is a coastal oceanographer and environmental engineer.
His research interests focus on the oceanography and sediment dynamics of coral reefs, mangroves and muddy estuaries. They also include the interaction between physical and biological processes determining the ecosystem health in tropical riverine and estuarine waters. Eric is leading the UNESCO-ROSTE estuarine ecohydrology modelling effort to quantify the impact from farming, dams, irrigation and urbanisation on the ecology of estuaries. The ecohydrology models that have resulted have been applied to assess the human impact on coral cover in the Great Barrier Reef, Darwin Harbour, coastal waters of Micronesia, as well as savannah ecosystems such as the Serengeti and Ruaha in Tanzania.
Eric has produced more than 300 publications, including six books. He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, the Institution of Engineers Australia, and the 'Académie Royale des Sciences d'Outre-Mer, Belgium. He was awarded an Australian Centenary medal for services to estuarine and coastal oceanography, a Doctorate Honoris Causa from the Catholic University of Louvain, and a Queensland Information Technology and Telecommunication award for excellence.
Professional awards and activities:
• Fellow, Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering.
• Fellow, Institution of Engineers, Australia.
• Fellow, Academie Royale Belge des Sciences d'Outre-Mer, Belgium.
• Recipient, Australian Centenary Medal
• Doctor Honoris Causa, Catholic University of Louvain.
• EU Erasmus Mundus Scholar, 2006.
• Chief Editor, Wetlands Ecology and Management and Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science
• Theme Editor, UNESCO Encyclopedia of Life Supporting Systems
• Member, Editorial Board, Continental Shelf Science, Journal of Marine Systems, Journal of Coastal Research, Ecohydrology and Hydrobiology
• Member, UNESCO Estuarine and Coastal Water Wcohydrology Sub-Programme.
• Member, Scientific and Policy Committee, Japan’s International Center for Environmental Management of Enclosed Coastal Seas (EMECS).
• Member, Scientific Steering Committee, Land Ocean Interactions in the Coastal Zone (IGBP).