Tom Hatton
Biography
Dr Hatton completed a Bachelor of Science (summa cum laude), Range Management (Humboldt State University, California, USA), in 1981, followed by a Master of Science in Natural Resources (Humboldt State University). In 1986, he completed his PhD in Range Science with a thesis titled Redevelopment of Plant Communities on a Surface Coal Mine (Utah State University, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA).
He joined CSIRO in 1988, following a postdoctoral position in mathematics with the University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW. He was Officer-in-Charge of CSIRO Land and Water (WA) Laboratories, 1997-2004, Deputy Chief of CSIRO’s Land and Water Division and the Western Australian Co-ordinator of the Water for Healthy Country Flagship Program, 2002-04.
In late 2004, Tom Hatton was appointed Director of the Water for a Healthy Country Flagship Research Program on behalf of CSIRO and over 140 R&D partners. The Flagship is Australia’s largest water R&D effort, with an annual budget of $90m employing 500 scientists across the nation with skills in areas as diverse as hydrology, ecohydrology, sociology, information and communication technology, atmospheric research, environmental management, economics and biology. The Flagship’s role is to address one of Australia’s biggest challenges ‘ the sustainable management of our water resources.
He has 25 years research experience, nationally and internationally, in a broad range of land and water related disciplines including forest productivity, ecology, bushfire science, ecohydrology, water allocation, salinity and catchment hydrology. He led the development and commercialisation of a device to monitor tree water use (Greenspan sapflow meter) and made significant advances in the understanding of ecosystem dependence on groundwater, and the management and future of our salinising landscapes.
Hatton’s contributions significantly redefined the role of trees in landscape water balance, influencing Landcare and remediation strategies and policies, and raised national awareness of the salinisation issue and significantly redefined expectations for salinity control among NRM groups and policy makers. He put a polarised and emotional debate on Wheatbelt river engineering (saline drainage) on a more objective and scientific basis, and was awarded the inaugural National W E Wood Award for Scientific Excellence in Salinity R&D in 1999.
He also provided the first comprehensive national overview of groundwater dependent ecosystems, underpinning enhanced guidelines and procedures for allocating water to the environment across Australia.
He has led major research projects for the Murray-Darling Basin Commission, the Grains R&D Corporation, Land & Water Australia and the State Governments of South Australia and Western Australia. In addition, he also served on numerous State Commissions, Foundations and Committees. He is author of more than 150 technical papers, an invited keynote speaker at international and national conferences and has addressed the Parliaments of Australia, South Australia and Western Australia.
He has served:
| 2004 | with the Conservation Commission of Western Australia |
| 2003 – 04 | with the Gnangara Coordinating Committee |
| 2003 | as Deputy Chair, Western Australia Premier’s Water Foundation |
| 2003 | as a co-author of Steering Committee, Western Australia State-of-Environment Report |
| 2002 | on the Steering Committee, WA Salinity Engineering Evaluation Program |
| 2000 – 03 | as a member of the Western Australia Water Resource Technical Advisory Committee |
| 1999 – 2003 | with the Operation Committee of the National Dryland Salinity Program, on State commisions, Foundations and committees |
| 1999 | as convenor, International Rangelands Congress, Townsville, Queensland , Australia |
| 1999 | on the Steering Committee (Dryland Salinity), National Land and Water Resources Audit |
| 1998 – 2003 | on the Operations Committee, National Dryland Salinity Program |
| 1998 – 99 | on the Board of the Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for Catchment Hydrology |
| 1998 | on the Technical R&D Working Group for WA Salinity Action Plan |
| 1997 – 99 | on the Kent Catchment Steering Committee/Recovery Team |
| as associate editor of Rangeland Ecology and Management | |
| on the editorial board of Land Use and Water Resources Research | |
| on the review board of Tree Physiology |
Honours and awards
Dr Hatton was awarded:
| 2008 | CSIRO Chairman’s Medal with the Murray Darling Basin Sustainable Yields project team |
| Utah State University Alumni Professional Achievement Award, for his scientific contributions | |
| 1999 | Inaugural WE Wood Award for scientific excellence in the field of salinity research |
Source
- Hatton T, 2009, Personal communication.
- Murray Darling-Basin Sustainable Yields Project – MDBSY whole of basin report
- Murray Darling-Basin Sustainable Yields Project – Regional reports
- Murray Darling-Basin Sustainable Yields Project – Technical reports
- Murray Darling-Basin Sustainable Yields Project – Project methods and Terms of reference
- Sustainable Yields Projects
- Salinity and Water Penetration in Australian Soils