Ms Marie Schlenker
Postgraduate research student
Marie Schlenker is a postgraduate research student in the Energy and Climate Change research group, within Engineering and Physical Sciences at the University of Southampton. Her research investigates climate change impacts in Small Island Developing States, using the Solomon Islands in the Southwest Pacific as an example.
Small island nations and their inhabitants have been identified as having tremendous physical, social and economic vulnerability to climate change. However, the impact that climate change is having on these nations is currently poorly understood. I hope that my research will contribute to close this knowledge gap and ultimately help local communities in small island states to cope with the impacts of future sea-level rise and climate change.
Marie graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Geosciences and a Master of Science in Environmental Physics from the University of Bremen, Germany.
During her studies, she developed a strong interest in the impact of climate change on coastal regions. Following her interests, she specialized in climate change and coastal hazards during her study abroad at Oregon State University within the framework of the American Fulbright programme. Furthermore, she obtained a Postgraduate Certificate in Disaster Management and conducted research into coastal hazards as part of internships at the Lower Saxony Water Management, Coastal Defence and Nature Conservation Agency, Norderney, Germany, and the Institute of Coastal Research, Geesthacht, Germany.