Hope, Geoffrey Scotford (Geoff)   (1944 - 2021)

Born on 27 May 1944; died 22 December 2021 in Canberra, ACT.

As an undergraduate student at the University of Melbourne in the 1960s, Geoff studied the natural sciences under such greats as Ray Specht.

He later undertook a Master's project on the peatlands of Wilsons Promontory, investigating Nothofagus forest and aboriginal plant use.

For his PhD research, he made the big leap into New Guinea, he completed his PhD at the Department of Biogeography and Geomorphology at the ANU.

He joined the Department of Biogeography and Geomorphology in the Research School of Pacific Studies, ANU, as Senior Fellow, in 1990 and was head of the Department of Archaeology and Natural History from 1998 to 2003.

He retired in June 2009.

He undertook research to assesses the past impact of people on landscapes by measuring vegetation change (using pollen, charcoal and phytoliths) and geomorphic consequences—erosion, silting and shifts in production.

He was also interested in the roles of climate change and fire on human responses and adaptability.

In later life he was assessing the long term fire regimes in east Kalimantan, Myanmar, New Guinea, New Caledonia, Vanuatu and Fiji in relation to their very different human settlement histories.

He was also involved in measuring climate change in high altitude sites across New Guinea using glacial histories.

He contributed to pollen and other microfossil databases for the south west Pacific region and a cooperative pollen description for the Indo-Pacific.

He was also interested the peatlands of SE Asia and Australia in terms of wetland process, extent, carbon sequestration values and rehabilitation after burning or clearing. This work aimed to contribute practical help for control of greenhouse emissions and solutions to problems of land management and biodiversity conservation.

Source: Extracted from:
https://theconversation.com/profiles/geoffrey-hope-348674
www.ecolsoc.org.au/obituaries/vale-professor-geoffrey-hope/
Prebble, M., Stevenson, J., Haberle, S. 'A D-section and a tin whistle: A tribute to Prof. Geoff Hope', terra australis No.32
https://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/p18701/pdf/ch0118.pdf
Portrait Photo: 1. undated, ANU; 2. 1976, Sandra Bowdler, PDF above.

Collecting localities for 'Hope, G.' from AVH (2024)

Data from 1,003 specimens