BAMOS April 2021
24 Obituary Vale Vanessa Haverd
Our research community is deeply saddened by the death of our dear friend and colleague , Dr Vanessa Haverd , on 19 January 2021 . Vanessa was highly regarded as a talented , creative and very productive scientist . She published more than 180 scientific papers and conference presentations in her relatively short career , including 25 + publications in 2020 alone . She is regarded by her peers as one of the best biosphere modellers in the world , with exceptional model development and analytical skills . Those of us who worked with Vanessa admired her passion , energy and dedication to everything she undertook . Her strength and ability to persevere and succeed , even in the face of adversity , was remarkable and inspiring . Our community is devastated to lose someone of her calibre , at the peak of her scientific career with so much yet to contribute .
Vanessa started with CSIRO in early 2007 . She joined our team of world-leading experts in land , vegetation and atmosphere interactions — embarking on a new research program to better observe , understand and predict the feedbacks between climate , water and greenhouse gas emissions . This included building research partnerships to establish the
OzFlux network of terrestrial ecosystem measurements around Australia and to develop CABLE as a community land surface model . While the focus was on Australia , our vision extended to the whole Earth system .
She worked closely with Michael Raupach and Peter Briggs on the
Australia Water Availability Project and with Ray Leuning and his team investigating land-air interactions , especially using observations and analyses from the Tumbarumba flux tower and OzFlux . Vanessa built respect for her high quality fundamental research , her determination to tackle technically difficult aspects of model development and her ability to apply these models to some of society ’ s most pressing problems .
Her rigorous approach to fusing models and data , encompassing physics , ecology , hydrology and biology , led to new insights and knowledge about Australia ’ s unique forest and savanna ecosystems as well as amplifying the impact of OzFlux . One of Vanessa ’ s most significant contributions from this collaboration was the
first assessment of Australia ’ s terrestrial carbon budget , combining observations and model simulations to parameterise and constrain the modelled estimates . This research demonstrates the advances that result from combining
models and observed data , while its relevance to science-based policy has realised impact .
Vanessa ’ s research advanced our understanding of the connections between the land surface , vegetation and the water and carbon cycles across Australia . This is critically important — for example , it shows the opportunities that forest regrowth and increased carbon storage might offer as part of Australia ’ s solution to climate change . It also enables us to assess the risks to our ecosystems and the services they provide .
Vanessa made
significant contributions to the development of CABLE , benchmarked as one of the best land surface models in the world . It provides for exchanges between the land surface and atmosphere within climate models , including ACCESS ( Australia ’ s Community Climate and Earth System Simulator ) and as a stand-alone terrestrial biosphere model . CABLE simulates the response of ecosystems to climate variability , higher CO
2 and global warming , as well as the effects of disturbance due to fire and land management practices — in the past , present and future .
In recent years , Vanessa led high quality and innovative model development and simulations of the dynamic interaction between regional and global carbon budgets and the climate system , building a highly productive partnership with Pep Canadell in CSIRO and many leading scientists here and overseas , especially Matthias Cuntz ( Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research , Germany ) and Ben Smith ( Western Sydney University , Australia ). Her leadership and research made influential and significant contributions to the annual
Global Carbon Budget .
Vanessa left us with a much better understanding of the role played by terrestrial ecosystems in our weather and climate , our water resources , and global climate mitigation ; a version of CABLE needed to answer globally significant research questions ; and a network of enriched students and collaborators . Vanessa was also a mother , avid bushwalker , musician and ultrarunning athlete ; winning almost all the ultra-marathon events in Australia . In 2009 , she placed 7th in the world in mountain running .
Vanessa ' s legacy thus extends well beyond her scientific work as an inspirational young woman whose light will continue to shine in the hearts and minds of many .
— Helen Cleugh , Director of CSIRO Climate Science Centre