Painting the world with numbers – what can we see?

Doctor Beth Fulton

CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere Flagship

Dr Beth Fulton is a Principal Research Scientist with CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere Flagship where shed heads up the ecosystem modelling team. Beth is also a PEW Marine Conservation fellowship and is a members of the Centre of Marine Socioecology, a collaboration between UTAS, CSIRO and AAD. Beth began her science career at James Cook University in Townsville before doing her PhD on ecosystem modelling at the University of Tasmania. Beth has been employed by the CSIRO for the past 13 years, where she has developed various system modelling tools for looking at marine ecosystems and sustainability. The best known tool is the Atlantis modelling framework, which has been used to provide strategic advice to the Australian Fisheries Management Authority and has been applied in more than 30 marine ecosystems around the world. The models developed by Beth’s team are some of the first to give equal attention to biophysical and human components of marine and coastal ecosystems. They underpin CSIRO’s research into managing potentially competing uses of Australia’s marine environments and adaptation to global change and have been used to consider the most effective means of monitoring marine ecosystems.