Mariko Ann Polk

Dr. Mariko Polk serves as the coastal processes specialist for NC Sea Grant and is positioned at UNCW Center for Marine Science. In her position, she serves as a resource for coastal processes and hazards including hurricanes, sea level rise, and climate change.

She has expertise in shoreline erosion management, natural and nature-based management, estuary and barrier island ecology, wetland flooding, and sea level rise in North Carolina. Dr. Polk works with managers, organizations, and individual community groups to help generate solutions and best practices to develop communities and habitats that are adaptive, resistant, and resilient. As such, she has a strong personal interest in representation and inclusivity in coastal science, especially in the Southeast US, and socio-environmental issues related to coastal management.

Dr. Polk holds a doctorate from UNC Wilmington in marine biology specializing in ecosystem ecology, focusing on how physical and biological components interact. There, her dissertation focused on analyzing the human and ecological implications of estuarine shoreline stabilization and nature-based management strategies in North Carolina. Her research leverages geospatial technology like high resolution RTK-GPS, lidar, aerial drone technology, and multispectral data to study macro-scale and ecosystem-level topics.

Education

PhD in Marine Biology, University of North Carolina Wilmington
MS in Environmental Science, University of North Carolina Wilmington
BS in Environmental Resource Management, California State University Bakersfield
AS in Liberal Studies Science, San Diego Miramar College