I am broadly interested in how physical and social science methods can be brought together to develop holistic understandings of geological hazards and risk. My PhD project aims to develop an interdisciplinary understanding of volcano-associated water contamination in the East African Rift Valley through a theoretical framework of materialist geographies.
Communities along the East African Rift System live among some of the least studied volcanoes in the world. The communities are often hotspots of health concerns resulting from chronic exposure to geogenic contamination through local water resources (e.g., fluorosis). My PhD aims to better understand the geological source of these contaminants, the processes by which they come to act as contaminants, and their extent and distribution in a case study region (Nakuru, Kenya).
As rapid development proceeds in the Rift Valley alongside traditional practices of living in a hazardous environment, this project also aims to better understand how rift communities perceive, manage, and adapt to, this volcanic hazard in their everyday lived experiences. The project has implications for development and risk reduction practices, political geology, medical geology, and natural hazard management.
View my research page here.
Mia is one of the current group of conveners of the Cambridge Volcanology Group.
Contact email: mw877@cam.ac.uk