Tara Clark

Tara Clark is a DECRA Research Fellow at the University of Wollongong's School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences (SEALS), specializing in historical changes to the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). Her work employs multidisciplinary approaches including geochronology, geochemistry, and palaeoecology to study coral community dynamics. Current projects focus on linking photographic records with geochemical data to track modern reef changes.

Funding:

• ARC Discovery Early Career Research Award (2018–2025)
• Australian Academy of Science J.G. Russell Award (2018–2020)
• University of Wollongong High Impact Grants (2022–2023)

Research Interests: The intersection of climate change and coral reef resilience, with emphasis on:

• Coral mortality events and recovery mechanisms
• Human and environmental drivers of reef decline
• Uranium-Thorium dating of coral skeletons

Recent Work Trends: Publications emphasize U-Th dating applications, Holocene reef dynamics, and climate-proxy development. Key themes include coral refugia identification, historical human impact assessment, and global climate linkages.

Awards:

• DECRA Fellowship (2018–2025)
• J.G. Russell Award (2018–2020)

Supervision & Grants: Currently supervising three PhD projects on:

• Microplastics in reef environments
• Coral bleaching geochemical analysis
• GBR climate evolution

Labs & Teams: Affiliated with SEALS' coral reef research group, using advanced geochemical instrumentation and field-based coral sampling networks.