Rate My Professor Bryce Kelly

Professor Bryce Kelly is a Professor in the School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences within the Faculty of Science at the University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney). He holds a BSc (Hons) in Environmental Geology from UNSW Sydney, awarded in 1989, and a PhD in Environmental Geophysics from the same institution, awarded in 1995. With over 25 years of international experience in lecturing, consulting, and research, his expertise spans greenhouse gas measurements, hydrogeology, geology, and geostatistics. Kelly's current research primarily focuses on quantifying methane emissions from coal seam gas, coal mining, and agricultural sources, employing techniques such as airborne and satellite observations, isotope chemistry of greenhouse gases, carbon accounting, soil health and carbon sequestration, and mapping connectivity between coal measures and freshwater aquifers. Since 2018, he has been affiliated with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Methane Science Studies team, contributing to the world’s first airborne measurements of greenhouse gases from coal seam gas fields. He also investigates groundwater management in the Murray-Darling Basin and aquifer depressurisation impacts on sustainable water use and ecosystems.

Kelly has managed major research projects collectively worth over $3 million, funded by UNEP, the Cotton Research and Development Corporation, and the National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training. Since 2003, he has supervised over 60 honours, Master's, and PhD students to completion. His awards include finalist for the Cotton Seed Distributor Researcher of the Year (2016), finalist for the National Water Commission Professor Peter Cullen Eureka Prize for Water Research and Innovation (2011), Cotton Catchment Communities CRC Achiever of the Month for developing 3D conceptual hydrogeological models (2010), and Science and Innovation Award for electrical imaging techniques for soil water monitoring (2007). Key publications comprise 'Atmospheric methane isotopes identify inventory knowledge gaps in the Surat Basin, Australia, coal seam gas and agricultural regions' (Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 2022), 'Isotopic signatures of major methane sources in the coal seam gas fields and adjacent agricultural districts, Queensland, Australia' (Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 2021), 'Coal seam gas industry methane emissions in the Surat Basin, Australia: Comparing airborne measurements with inventories' (Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A, 2021), and 'Isotopic evidence for nitrate sources and controls on denitrification in groundwater beneath an irrigated agricultural district' (Science of the Total Environment, 2022). A member of the American Geophysical Union, European Geosciences Union, and International Association of Hydrogeologists, Kelly conducts outreach to influence government policy through articles in The Conversation and Australian Geographic.