Sally Thompson

  1. Education and Employment Experience::

    Bachelor of Engineering (First Class Honours) in Environmental Engineering, University of Western Australia, 2003

    Bachelor of Science (First Class Honours), in Environmental Chemistry, University of Western Australia, 2001

  2. Papers and Presentations:

    American Geophysical Union (2007), Joint Assembly - Acapulco, Mexico, 22-25 May (H52-B) "Wind-Dispersion of Biomass in Patterned Vegetation Models: From Classical Diffusion to WALD"

    Honours thesis (2003) entitled "Modelling the Use of Tree Belts for Dryland Salinity Management Using Hydrus 2D".

    Guest Speaker International Council of Women's General Assembly, Perth, 2003, "Change, Conflict and Compromise - Youth Perspectives on Sustainability."

    Honours thesis (2001) entitled "Communicating About the Greenhouse Effect with a Public Audience - a Study into the Public Understanding of Science."

    Speaker (2001) - 32nd Australian Science Education Researchers Association Conference, Sydney

  3. Membership and Affiliations:

    Chartered Professional Engineer, 2006, Engineers Australia

    Student Member, American Geophysical Union

  4. Awards and Prizes:

    James B Duke Fellowship, 2006, Duke University

    General Sir John Monash Award, 2005, General Sir John Monash Foundation, Australia

    Peter Cassell Scholarship, 2004, Sinclair Knight Merz

    Valedictorian, 2003 Faculty of Engineering, University of Western Australia

    Keulegan Prize 2003 for Best Honours Thesis in the School of Environmental Engineering, University of Western Australia

Current Work: Vegetation spatial patterning observed in semi-arid and arid ecosystems worldwide provides an exciting system for the testing and validation of ecohydrological models that couple the evolution of the vegetation pattern to the hydrological regime. However, one fundamental limitation to these models is their represention of biomass dispersion, currently assumed to follow a classical diffusion processes with an empirical diffusion coefficient. We present a new approach for biomass movement based upon the WALD model, a mechanistic dispersal kernel for wind-dispersed seeds. The model can be parameterised based upon seed characteristics, release height, and the mean wind frequency distribution. The WALD model is shown to reproduce the velocities of biomass movement reconstructed from the pollen record to within an order of magnitude or better for a wide range of species considered in North America and Europe. Incorporating WALD in pattern-forming ecohydrological models is briefly discussed.