Jenny Clarke began her PhD in the School of Natural Sciences at Trinity College Dublin in September 2024. She is co-supervised by Professor Iris Möller (Geography) and Professor Jennifer McElwain (Botany). Jenny completed her Bachelor’s degree in Geography and Geoscience at Trinity in 2022, followed by a Master’s in Environmental Science in 2023. Her PhD research, funded by a Research Ireland and Environmental Protection Agency Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship, focuses on the resilience of salt marsh ecosystems under a changing climate, with particular emphasis on the role of pioneer species in marsh expansion and stability.

Through a combination of laboratory mesocosm experiments—in which salt marsh plants are grown in state-of-the-art climate simulation chambers—and fieldwork at North Bull Island, Dublin Bay—where a bespoke monitoring station records tidal water levels and meteorological conditions—she investigates how elevated atmospheric CO₂ influences the germination, establishment, and physical traits of two key pioneer species, Spartina anglica and Salicornia europaea. Her work aims to improve our understanding of how environmental change may affect the future development and persistence of Irish salt marshes, and their ability to protect our coastlines from extreme weather events.