Rate My Professor Iain Parnum

Dr. Iain Parnum serves as an Adjunct Research Fellow in the School of Earth and Planetary Sciences within the Faculty of Science and Engineering at Curtin University. He is affiliated with the Centre for Marine Science and Technology (CMST). Parnum earned his PhD from Curtin University in 2008 for his thesis titled "Benthic Habitat Mapping using Multibeam Sonar Systems." During his doctoral studies, he conducted seafloor mapping surveys around the Australian coast, including coral reefs in Queensland and Sydney Harbour. As part of this research, he and colleagues at CMST developed open-source software for processing multibeam bathymetry and backscatter data, which is freely available on the CMST website.

Following his PhD, Parnum has pursued advanced research in marine acoustics and underwater technology. Key projects include seafloor mapping of deep-water habitats in Ningaloo Marine Park, seagrass meadows in the Swan River estuary, and seabed biodiversity assessments in the Kimberley Marine Park. His academic interests and specializations encompass acoustic remote sensing of the marine environment, seafloor and water column mapping, marine bioacoustics, underwater sound propagation modelling, fisheries acoustics, sonar-based shark and marine mammal detection. Parnum engages in teaching and postgraduate supervision in underwater acoustics and technology at Curtin University. He holds the position of Chair of the Western Australia Division of the Australian Acoustical Society, where he organizes workshops, conference sessions, and participates in international working groups on seafloor mapping and characterisation. With over 118 publications, his influential works include "Mesophotic benthic communities associated with a submerged palaeoshoreline in Western Australia" (2023), "Long-term spatial variations in turbidity and temperature provide new insights into coral-algal states on extreme/marginal reefs" (2023), "The Australian Fish Chorus Catalogue (2005-2023)" (2024), "Fish sing louder in conjunction with a wind-forced coastal upwelling system off south-east Australia" (2025), and "Sources of Underwater Noise" (2025). His research has amassed more than 2,148 citations, contributing significantly to advancements in marine science and remote sensing technologies.