Person
Lovelock, Catherine (1964 - )
FAA
- Born
- 1964
- Occupation
- Climate scientist, Environmental scientist and Marine ecologist
Summary
Catherine Lovelock is a recognised internationally as an expert on the impacts of climate change on coastal wetlands and the role of coastal ecosystems, particularly mangroves, in mitigating climate change. Her research focuses on the influence of environmental change on coastal and marine plant communities and their role in climate change mitigation (or blue carbon) and adaptation. This research provides knowledge to underpin conservation and restoration of coastal ecosystems. After several years at the Australian Institute of Marine Science and the Australian National University, Lovelock spent ten years at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama. Since 2005 she has been Professor in the School of Biological Science at the University of Queensland. She was a founding member of the International Blue Carbon Scientific Working Group and the International Partnership for Blue Carbon. In 2019 she was a lead author of the greenhouse gas accounting guidelines for wetlands issued by the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Details
"Catherine Lovelock is a global expert on the impacts of climate change on coastal wetlands and on the role of coastal ecosystems in mitigating climate change, or blue carbon. Her research has focussed particularly on mangrove ecology, on the impacts of sea level rise on mangroves and on carbon storage in mangrove ecosystems. She was lead author for the International Panel for Climate Change Wetlands chapter (2019), and contributes to national and international policy to implement conservation and restoration of coastal wetlands in order to enhance resilience of coastal communities." [from https://science.org.au/about-us/academy-fellows/discover-our-fellows/cath-lovelock 2026-09-03]
Chronology
- 1991
- Education - PhD, James Cook University of North Queensland
- 1991 - 1992
- Career position - Researcher, Australian Institute of Marine Science
- 1993 - 1994
- Career position - Researcher, Australian National University
- 1995 - 2005
- Career position - Marine ecologist, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama
- 2005 -
- Career position - Professor, School of Biological Science, University of Queensland
- 2020
- Award - Georgina Sweet Australian Laureate Fellowship, Australian Research Council
- 2020 - 2024
- Award - ARC Laureate Fellowship
- 2021 -
- Award - Fellow, Australian Academy of Science
- 2023
- Award - Suzanne Cory Medal (shared with Terry Hughes), Australian Academy of Science
Related entries
Published resources
Books
- Lovelock, Catherine, Field guide to the mangroves of Queensland (Townsville, Qld: Australian Institute of Marine Science, 1993), 72 pp. Details
Journal Articles
- Adame, M. F. and Lovelock, C. E., 'Carbon and nutrient exchange of mangrove forests with the coastal ocean', Hydrobiologia, 663 (1) (2010), 23-50, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-010-0554-7. Details
- Lovelock, C. E., Bennion, V., Grinham, A. and Cahoon, D. R., 'The role of surface and subsurface processes in keeping pace with sea level rose in intertidal wetlands of Moreton Bay, Queensland', Ecosystems, 14 (5) (2011), 745-57, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-011-9443-9. Details
- Lovelock, Catherine E. [and others], ' An Australian blue carbon method to estimate climate change mitigation benefits of coastal wetland restoration', Restoration ecology, 31 (7) (2022), 15, https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.13739. Details
Helen Cohn
Created: 3 September 2026