Peter Cook

Senior Principal Research Scientist, CSIRO Land and Water; Professorial Status at Flinders University

Deputy Director, National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training

Professor Peter Cook is a world-leading groundwater scientist who specialises in the areas of hydrology, ecohydrology, isotope hydrology and unsaturated zone flow.

His work is recognised globally and he is the National Ground Water Association Darcy Lecturer for 2009. This is one of the highest honours that can be given to a groundwater scientist and he is the first non–Northern American resident to be chosen for the role.

A key research focus for Professor Cook has been the use of environmental tracers to quantify groundwater flow rates and the integration of tracer and hydraulic methods.

Specific projects have included estimation of aquifer recharge, quantification of groundwater discharge to streams and wetlands, and assessment of groundwater dependent ecosystems.

Professor Cook was a member of the National Groundwater Committee between 2002 and 2007 and has been a member of the Victorian Government’s Technical Audit Panel for water resources since its inception in 2002.

In 2003, he was commissioned by the United States National Research Council to review the deliberations of its Committee on Hydrologic Sciences involving the interaction between groundwater and surface water resources.

During the mid-1990s, Professor Cook was at the forefront of the development of chlorofluorocarbons as a groundwater dating tool. He has also developed isotopic and artificial tracer methods that permit estimation of aquifer recharge rates and groundwater flow velocities in highly heterogeneous fractured rock environments.

His research has also involved close collaboration with plant physiologists to assess the likely impacts of groundwater extraction on ecosystems.

Professor Cook has co-written books on environmental tracers and ecohydrology and has been the associate editor of leading international journals.

Partner Investigator and Leader Program 3. Email Peter Cook.