About
Emma Tompkins is an environmental social scientist / human geographer working on how people adapt to climate and weather hazards. She collaborates with natural scientists, oceanographers, hydrologists, biologists, engineers, arts and humanities researchers, and remote sensers on floods, droughts, storms, and complex and compound hazards. She teaches climate adaptation. She currently researches: the effectiveness of adaptations to climate and weather hazards; how to assess global/large scale evidence of climate adaptation; and how people are adapting in real-time to complex hazards e.g. the nuisance seaweed (sargassum spp.) affecting the tropical Atlantic
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Research
Research interests
- How households and businesses are adapting to climate and weather hazards
- Monitoring real-time adaptation to hydro-meteorological/climate hazards, (including compound and cascading hazards)
- Methods to assess the effectiveness of climate adaptations
- Household, business and community adaptation to coastal change
Current research
My research relates to how people, businesses and communities adapt to (mitigate, prepare for, cope with, respond to and recover from) climate and weather hazards. I am interested in monitoring and modelling adaptations to complex and compound hazards generated from human-environment interactions. Current research considers: adaptation to coastal change, adapting to nuisance seaweed blooms, capacity strenghtening through citizen science engagement for resilience building to climate hazards. I have a nascent interest in disaster colonialism.
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Research groups
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Research interests
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Current research
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Research projects
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Publications
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Supervision
Current PhD Students
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Teaching
Undergraduate class in: Adapting to climate and weather hazards
I am open to PGR supervision in the following areas:
- Human (household, individual, business and community) adaptation to climate and weather shocks, stresses, and compound/complex hazards (in UK, coastal areas, small islands)
- Adaptation pathways for coastal change
- Citizen science for resilience building in hazard-prone areas
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Courses and modules
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External roles and responsibilities
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Biography
My recent research addresses: the effectiveness of adaptations to climate and weather hazards; how to assess global/large scale evidence of climate adaptation; how people are adapting in real-time to complex hazards e.g. the nuisance seaweed (sargassum spp.) affecting the tropical Atlantic.
I have been researching human adaptations to environmental shocks and change for 30 years. Over the last 20 years, I have focussed on how people can and are adapting to past, present and emerging climate and weather hazards.
I have been a lead author for the IPCC (AR5, Chap 29. Small Islands), as well as a contributing author to other Assessment Reports. I have contributed to the first and third UK Climate Change Risk Assessments in 2012 and 2022. I graduated from Universities of Leicester, London and East Anglia with degrees in economics, environmental economics and environmental science respectively.
Prizes
- SUSU Academic Awards 2018: Best Academic Support (Highly Commended) (2018)
- SUSU Academic Awards 2018: Most engaging lecturer (Nominated) (2018)
- SUSU Academic Awards 2018: Best academic feedback (Nominated) (2018)
- SUSU Academic Awards 2023: Best Academic Support FELS. (Winner) (2023)
- VC Awards 2023 for Research Impact (Shortlisted finalist) (2023)
- SUSU Academic Awards 2024: Best Pastoral Support (nominated) (2024)
- SUSU Academic Awards 2021: Best academic support (Nominated) (2021)
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Prizes
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