Clarissa is a final semester Ecology, Conservation Biology and Earth Science undergraduate student at Monash University. Her previous research projects have been affiliated with the Juneau Icefield Research Program (JIRP), King’s College London, University of the South Pacific and the University of Idaho, where her collaborative project on the environmental seismology of the Vaughan Lewis Icefall was showcased at the 2024 American Geophysical Union (AGU) Conference.

Clarissa’s research interests include how biodiversity is impacted by climate change, tourism and invasive species as well as the integration of biological and physical indicators to understand ice sheet evolution. Supervised by Dr. Jasmine Lee, Clarissa’s research with SAEF will use British Antarctic Survey (BAS) data to construct a biodiversity database of Signy Island with scope to apply this data in an investigation of species vulnerability to climate change.

“Antarctica is a fascinating landscape home to unique biology and geography, the understanding of which is crucial to securing our global environmental future.” – Clarissa Hee