‘Giant in his field’: Reef expert Dr Jon Brodie remembered
A respected scientist has died but his work, which has gone on to help the Great Barrier Reef will benefit generations to come.
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A respected scientist has died but his work, which has gone on to help the Great Barrier Reef will benefit generations to come.
Dr Jon Brodie died last Thursday.
He was a Professorial Fellow at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University, leading many research programs which furthered people’s understanding of the reef and environmental issues.
Dr Brodie led studies into microplastics being ingested by turtles and fought for independent monitoring of the offshore dumping of dredge spoil at Abbott Point.
His passion for science led him to complete a BSc in Inorganic Chemistry in 1968. Dr Brodie was a analytical chemist and technical teacher at Newcastle Technical College for many years.
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Dr Brodie then became an analytical chemist and technical teacher at Newcastle Technical College for many years.
After he completed his post graduate studies, Dr Brodie held many roles including: Chief Research Scientist for the Centre for Tropical Water and Aquatic Ecosystem Research (TropWATER); Director of the Water Quality and Coastal Development Section at the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA), and Director of the Institute of Natural Resources at the University of the South Pacific in Fiji.
According to James Cook University, Dr Brodie was a world authority on water quality, specialising in the effects of land pollutants on marine ecosystems.
Dr Brodie established the TropWATER water quality laboratory that still exists to this day.
He regularly advised governments on policies regarding the management of water quality on the Great Barrier Reef.
The Director-General of the Queensland Department of Environment and Science, Jamie Merrick, recently thanked Dr Brodie for his “leadership in investigating land use impacts on the Reef, and your dedication to water pollution research in the tropical north”.
Dr Brodie’s work was fundamental in the development of the Reef Water Quality Protection Plans and Reef 2050 Water Quality Improvement Plan. The water quality targets he detailed within these publications guide today’s local land management.
Throughout his career, Dr Brodie published more than 100 peer reviewed articles and more than 300 technical reports, books and book chapters.
In a statement, JCU said Dr Brodie “as a giant in his field, widely acknowledged as irreplaceable”.
“Dr Brodie remained central to his field right to his final days, when, in typical fashion, he was working fruitfully on a range of research and policy outputs,” it said.
“Though Dr Brodie’s valuable legacy remains, his meticulous science, fierce spirit and no-nonsense straight-talking will be sorely missed.”
Originally published as ‘Giant in his field’: Reef expert Dr Jon Brodie remembered