Rate My Professor Peter Fearns

Dr Peter Fearns serves as a Senior Lecturer and Senior Research Fellow in the School of Molecular and Life Sciences within the Faculty of Science and Engineering at Curtin University. With over 18 years of experience in physics and remote sensing science, his research centers on ocean colour remote sensing, hyperspectral imaging applications for bathymetry, hydro-optics, and benthos mapping in coastal environments, as well as monitoring total suspended sediment concentrations in turbid waters using satellite data such as MODIS and Landsat. His work addresses environmental monitoring and management challenges, including dredge plume extents, macroalgae blooms, coral reef dynamics under bleaching events and cyclones, and water quality assessment in regions like the Kimberley and Shark Bay. Fearns has contributed to major initiatives such as the Western Australian Marine Science Institution Kimberley Marine Research Program and the Reef 2050 Integrated Monitoring and Reporting Program, focusing on remote sensing for marine physical and chemical environments. Additionally, his interests extend to medical physics, encompassing innovative hands-on MRI education for undergraduate medical radiation science students and evaluation of 3D-printed bolus materials in external beam radiation therapy.

Fearns holds a PhD and has authored or co-authored numerous peer-reviewed publications demonstrating significant impact in the field. Key works include 'Intercomparison of shallow water bathymetry, hydro-optics, and benthos mapping techniques in Australian and Caribbean coastal environments' (2011, Limnology and Oceanography: Methods), 'Quantification of floating macroalgae blooms using the scaled algae index' (2013, Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans), 'A Semi-Analytic Model for Estimating Total Suspended Sediment Concentration in Turbid Coastal Waters of Northern Western Australia Using MODIS-Aqua 250 m Data' (2016, Remote Sensing), 'Impact of the spatial resolution of satellite remote sensing sensors in the quantification of total suspended sediment concentration: A case study in turbid waters of Northern Western Australia' (2017, PLOS ONE), and 'Early recovery dynamics of turbid coral reefs after recurring bleaching events' (2020, Journal of Environmental Management). He has supervised PhD theses on hyperspectral remote sensing uncertainty and stereoscopic display crosstalk, and his research outputs have garnered over 2,300 citations. Fearns is affiliated with Curtin's Remote Sensing and Satellite Research Group and has collaborated on projects involving machine learning for honey harvest prediction and solar spectral irradiance models for satellite missions.