John P. Smol

John P. Smol
OC PhD FRSC FRS
John Smol holding a corer in his lab
Born John P. Smol
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Residence Kingston, Ontario
Nationality Canadian
Alma mater
Known for Advancements in the field of long-term environmental change
Scientific career
Fields Aquatic Ecology, Environmental Science, Paleolimnology
Institutions

John P. Smol, OC PhD FRSC FRS[1] is a Canadian ecologist, limnologist and paleolimnologist who holds the Canada Research Chair in Environmental Change[2] in the Department of Biology[3] at Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario. He founded and co-directs the Paleoecological Environmental Assessment and Research Lab (PEARL).[4]

Smol works on a diverse range of subjects, most of which focus on using lake sediments to reconstruct past environmental trends. Topics include: lake acidification caused by acid rain, sewage input and fertilizer runoff (eutrophication), studies of nutrient and contaminant transport by birds and other biovectors, and a large program on climatic change. For about three decades, he has been leading research in the high Arctic, studying the present-day ecology of polar lakes and ponds, and then using paleolimnological approaches to determine how these ecosystems have been changing due to natural and anthropogenic stressors.

The author or editor of 21 books and over 570 journal publications and book chapters,[5] Smol is an international lecturer and media commentator on a variety of topics, but most dealing with environmental issues. From 1987 to 2007, he edited the Journal of Paleolimnology. Since 2004, he has been editor of the journal Environmental Reviews. He is the series editor of the Developments in Paleoenvironmental Research book series. He held the Chair of the International Paleolimnology Association for two three-year terms ending in August 2018.[6]

Honours and awards

Among dozens of other awards and fellowships, he is the recipient of the Gerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal for Science and Engineering,[7] given by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)[8] to honour Canada’s top scientist or engineer. Smol was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2018.[9] He holds six honorary degrees: LLD, St Francis Xavier University (2003); PhD, University of Helsinki (2007); DSc, University of Waterloo (2012); LLD, Mount Allison University (2016); DSc, Ryerson University (2016); DSc, Western University (University of Western Ontario) (2017). In 2013 he was named an Officer of the Order of Canada.[10]

Select publications

  • Smol, J.P. 2008. Pollution of Lakes and Rivers: A Paleoenvironmental Perspective. 2nd edition. Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, Oxford. 383 pp.
  • Smol, J.P. and Stoermer, E.F. [Editors]. 2010. The Diatoms: Applications for the Environmental and Earth Sciences. 2nd edition. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge. 667 pp.
  • Smol, J.P., Schindler, D.W., Dillon, P.J., Vincent, W.F., Hecky, R., Carpenter, S.R., Likens, G.E., and Moss, B. 2012. Water and wisdom: an open letter to Ottawa.[11] Op-ed in the Globe and Mail, available on line June 5, 2012.

References

  1. ↑ "Biography".
  2. ↑ "Research Chair".
  3. ↑ "Department of Biology".
  4. ↑ "PEARL".
  5. ↑ "Publication List".
  6. ↑ "International Paleolimnology Association".
  7. ↑ "Herzberg Gold Medal".
  8. ↑ "NSERC".
  9. ↑ "Royal Spciety".
  10. ↑ "Order of Canada".
  11. ↑ "Water and wisdom:".
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