Michael Robin Raupach 1950–2015

Helen Cleugh; John Finnigan

doi:10.1071/HR24030

EDITORIAL (Open Access)

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Michael Robin Raupach 1950–2015

Helen Cleugh

^A ^* and John Finnigan ^B ^C

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A Climate Change Research Centre, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.

^B CSIRO Environment, Black Mountain, ACT 2601, Australia. Email: John.Finnigan@csiro.au

^C ANU Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Acton, ACT 2601, Australia. Email: John.Finnigan@anu.edu.au

^* Correspondence to: H.Cleugh@unsw.edu.au

Historical Records of Australian Science 36, HR24030 https://doi.org/10.1071/HR24030

Published online: 28 April 2025

© 2025 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of the Australian Academy of Science. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

For four decades from the mid 1970s, Dr Michael Robin Raupach (Mike) was recognised around the world as a pre-eminent researcher in the fields of micrometeorology and Earth System science. A scientist who combined a fertile imagination with outstanding analytical and mathematical skill, he played a pivotal role in transforming the way we understand and model interactions between those key components of the climate system, the living biosphere, and the atmosphere. Based on the fundamental advances he had made in the understanding of flow and transport of heat, water vapour, momentum and trace gases at plant canopy scales, Mike proceeded to apply this knowledge at regional and then global scales, providing us with some of the essential tools that are now being used to understand anthropogenic climate change. As well as a brilliant scientist, Mike was a much-valued mentor and supporter to colleagues around the world, especially to young scientists with whom he generously shared his help and insights.

Keywords: aeolian transport, atmospheric physics, biogeochemical cycles, carbon-climate feedbacks, climate variability and change, Earth system science, global carbon budget, micrometeorology.

References

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