Rhodes Whitmore Fairbridge (21 May 1914 – 8 November 2006) was an Australian

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the structure, composition, and History of Earth, history of Earth. Geologists incorporate techniques from physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and geography to perform research in the Field research, ...

and expert on

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

. His father was Kingsley Fairbridge. Born in

Pinjarra, Western Australia Pinjarra is a town in the Peel (Western Australia), Peel region of Western Australia along the South Western Highway, from the state capital, Perth and south-east of the coastal city of Mandurah. Its Local Government Areas of Western Australia ...

, Fairbridge graduated from Queen's University in

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

and earned his

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

from

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

. In 1941, he earned a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

in geology from the

University of Western Australia University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Crawley, Western Australia, Crawley, a suburb in the City of Perth local government area. UW ...

. He taught at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

from 1955 until his 1982 retirement. While there, he was supervising editor for the '' Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences''. In the early 1960s, he developed the so-called "Fairbridge Curve",15 October 2003 Classification of Coasts. ''Journal of Coastal Research'' pp. 155–165 a record of changes in

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

s over the last 10,000 years.The "Solar Jerk", The King-Hele Cycle, and the Challenge to Climate Science
/ref> In the 1980s Fairbridge wrote about climate's impact on the long-term evolution of

shields A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry like spears or long ranged projectiles suc ...

and

peneplain In geomorphology and geology, a peneplain is a low-relief plain formed by protracted erosion. This is the definition in the broadest of terms, albeit with frequency the usage of peneplain is meant to imply the representation of a near-final (or ...

s. Fairbridge died in 2006 in

Amagansett, New York Amagansett is a census-designated place that roughly corresponds to the Hamlet (New York), hamlet by the same name in the Administrative divisions of New York#Town, Town of East Hampton (town), New York, East Hampton in Suffolk County, New Yor ...

of a

brain tumor A brain tumor (sometimes referred to as brain cancer) occurs when a group of cells within the Human brain, brain turn cancerous and grow out of control, creating a mass. There are two main types of tumors: malignant (cancerous) tumors and benign ...

Works

* ''The Encyclopedia of Oceanography'' – edited (Reinhold Pub. Co., 1966) * ''The Encyclopedia of Geochemistry and Environmental Sciences'' – edited (Reinhold Pub. Corp., 1967) * ''The Encyclopedia of Geomorphology'' – edited (Reinhold Book Corp., c1968) * ''Climate : History, Periodicity, and Predictability'' (Van Nostrand Reinhold, c1987) * ''The Encyclopedia of Climatology'' – edited with John E. Oliver (Van Nostrand Reinhold, c1987) * ''The Physiographic Regions of Australia'' – co-written with J. Gentilli (University of Western Australia, 19--) * *

References

1914 births 2006 deaths Australian geomorphologists 20th-century Australian geologists Australian academics 20th-century Australian non-fiction writers Deaths from brain cancer in New York (state) People from Pinjarra, Western Australia University of Western Australia alumni Columbia University faculty {{Australia-scientist-stub