Helen McGregor (geologist)

Helen McGregor is an Australian geologist and climate change researcher. She is currently a Fellow with the Research School of Earth Sciences at the Australian National University. Her areas of expertise include isotope geochemistry, palaeoclimatology, climate change processes, marine geology and Quaternary environments.[1][2]

This article is about the geologist. For the writer, see Helen McGregor (writer).

Helen McGregor
Born1974
NationalityAustralian
Alma materAustralian National University
Known forOcean and climate change research
Scientific career
FieldsPaeleoclimate, Geochemistry, Geology
InstitutionsAustralian National University

Early life

McGregor was born in 1974. She is the oldest of four children.

Education

McGregor completed secondary school in 1992 and from there was awarded a scholarship to study geology at James Cook University, and graduated with a 1st class BSc(Hons) in 1995. After working as a geologist in the mining industry she decided to return to university and complete a PhD. As she explained to The Sun Herald in 2012 "I could see my career path as a geologist in mining mapped out... Going into research and doing a PhD appealed as it was more of a challenge and I wasn't sure where it would take me"[3] She completed her PhD through the Research School of Earth Sciences at the Australian National University in 2004.

Research

McGregor's research focuses on paleoclimate, using fossilised coral to provide information on the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) system. Her research on ENSO and its impacts on climate have contributed to understanding how climate change will impact Australia and the world.[4]

A major highlight of McGregor's work is on climatically‐driven coastal upwelling zones.[5] Though representing less than one percent of the global ocean by area, coastal upwelling zones have extremely high biological productivity, and provide ~20% of the world's fisheries. Yet, despite their significance, there is intense debate as to whether these delicate regions are, or will be, influenced by global warming. McGregor's key finding was an unambiguous and rapid increase in upwelling intensity during the 20th century, unprecedented over the last 2500 years. Her discovery suggests that upwelling will continue to intensify with warming in the future, with major consequences for the ecosystems and fisheries dependent on coastal upwelling processes. This research attracted substantial media interest, both in Australia and overseas, and McGregor was invited to write a 'Science Highlight' on this study for PAGES News (2007).

McGregor has published over 50 research articles, including 26 papers in top-tier journals published in the last five years[Note 1] and two book chapters.[6]

Science communication

McGregor is concerned with science communication and has shared the results of her research with a number of media outlets including The ABC,[7] The Sydney Morning Herald,[8] The Sun Herald,[3] The Yass Tribune[9] and The Illawarra Mercury. Her work has also been featured in international publications such as the Alaska Report,[10] The Dallas Morning News[11] and Weser Kurier.[12]

McGregor is especially interested in engendering understanding of climate change amongst the general public. In her opinion piece Climate Change is Real, Believe Me[13] she says "Human-induced climate change is insidious. It is not an acute, headline-grabbing event but the consequences of climate change will have far greater and far reaching impacts. The science provides the clear evidence that human-induced climate change is occurring – the real uncertainty lies in our collective ability to do something about it."[13]

Awards and recognition

In 2014, McGregor was awarded a Future Fellowship grant through the Australian Research Council to continue her work on understanding El Nino and La Nina patterns and their influence on Australian climate, with a view to better managing things like Australia's water security.[14]

Notes
  1. H-index = 12 Google Scholar
gollark: You need to do async HTTP for Discorduous botization.
gollark: Maybe its response is the empty string and æ don't.
gollark: It only runs some monitoring stuff and Tailscale coordination.
gollark: It's only accessible by SSH key, so I don't see the problem, and yes.
gollark: That is, again, my VPS. My laptop does not allow SSH.

References
  1. "Dr Helen McGregor". Research School of Earth Sciences – Australian National University. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
  2. "Dr Helen V. McGregor". Researchers – The Australian National University. Archived from the original on 16 August 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
  3. Tanya Ryan-Segger (29 January 2012). "Teaching Leads to a Range of Roles". The Sun Herald. pp. 4–5. I could see my career path as a geologist in mining mapped out... Going into research and doing a PhD appealed as it was more of a challenge and I wasn't sure where it would take me
  4. McGregor, Helen. "Ancient Corals Reveal the Changeable Moods of El-Nino Southern Oscillation" (PDF). University of Wollongong. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
  5. McGregor, Helen; Dima, M; Fischer, HW; Mulitza, S (2007). "Rapid 20th-century increase in coastal upwelling off northwest Africa". Science. 315: 637–639. doi:10.1126/science.1134839. PMID 17272719.
  6. "Helen V McGregor". Google Scholar. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
  7. "Global Warming puts Fish Stocks at Risk". ABC Science Online. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
  8. Smith, Deborah (2 February 2007). "Sea rises faster than gloomiest predictions". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  9. "Global warming real, auxiliaries told". The Yass Tribune. 1 June 2007.
  10. "Cool water surges from global warming could affect fish stocks". Alaska Report. Reuters. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
  11. Bloomberg News (1 February 2007). "Sea levels rising more quickly than forecast". The Dallas Morning News.
  12. Wendler, Jurgen (2 February 2007). "Warmere Luft, kalteres Wasser". Weser Kurier.
  13. "Climate Change is Real, Believe Me". University of Wollongong Opinion Pieces. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
  14. "Examples of Future Fellowships projects commencing in 2014". Australian Research Council. Archived from the original on 14 August 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
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