Gavin Birch

Associate Professor Gavin Birch is affiliated with the School of Geosciences at the University of Sydney, where he holds the position of Associate Professor and Honorary Associate in the Geocoastal Research Group. He earned a BSc, MSc, PhD, and MBA. Birch's research specializations encompass ecology, sedimentology, water quality, environmental impact assessment, environmental pollution, marine ecology, environmental analysis, water analysis, environmental monitoring, and water chemistry, with a primary focus on environmental geology. His work extensively examines geogenic and anthropogenic sources of metal enrichment, contaminant dynamics, ecological risks, and human health risks in estuarine and coastal sedimentary environments, particularly within Sydney estuary systems including Port Jackson and Botany Bay.

Birch has a long-standing career at the University of Sydney, contributing to teaching in units such as Coastal Environments and Processes (GEOS3009), Field Studies in Geography (GEOS3055), and various Environmental Science courses. His publication record includes 269 works, with over 10,000 citations. Key publications feature 'Pollution and health risk of potentially toxic metals in urban road dust in Nanjing, a mega-city of China' (Liu et al., 2014, Science of the Total Environment, 379 citations), 'Kinetics of trace element uptake and release by particles in estuarine waters: effects of pH, salinity, and particle loading' (Hatje et al., 2003, Environment International, 335 citations), 'The distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in surficial sediments of Sydney Harbour, Australia' (McCready et al., 2000, Marine Pollution Bulletin, 325 citations), 'Determination of sediment metal background concentrations and enrichment in marine environments – a critical review' (Birch, 2017, Science of the Total Environment, 310 citations), 'Source of heavy metals in sediments of the Port Jackson estuary, Australia' (Birch & Taylor, 1999, Science of the Total Environment, 308 citations), 'Sediment-bound heavy metals as indicators of human influence and biological risk in coastal water bodies' (Birch & Olmos, 2008, ICES Journal of Marine Science, 288 citations), and 'Emerging contaminants (pharmaceuticals, personal care products, a food additive and pesticides) in waters of Sydney estuary, Australia' (Birch et al., 2015, Marine Pollution Bulletin, 274 citations). Recent contributions include 'Human health risk assessment of metal-contaminated soils in Sydney estuary catchment (Australia)' (2024), 'Review and assessment of road-derived metals as a major contributor of metallic contaminants to urban stormwater and the estuarine environment (Sydney estuary, Australia)' (2023), 'Science of Gamay: A systematic review of current knowledge of Botany Bay 2022' (2022), and 'Geogenic and anthropogenic metal enrichment in aquatic sedimentary environments - What are they and can they be differentiated' (2025).Professional Email: gavin.birch@sydney.edu.au