Kate Elisabeth Larkin
Dr. Kate Larkin is a natural scientist with a BSc. from the University of Birmingham, UK (Natural Sciences, 2022), and a Ph.D (2006) in marine science from the National Oceanography Centre (NOC), Southampton, UK. Her research in deep-sea benthic (seafloor) communities took her on international oceanographic research campaigns to the Arabian Sea and the Northeast Atlantic Ocean. She also spent 3 months working at the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) to further her research goals. Seeing the need to communicate and connect ocean science beyond the research community, in 2012 Kate transitioned into work at the interface of science-policy-industry and society, based in Europe. This included 7 years working at the European Marine Board, Europe’s leading think tank in marine science, before moving in 2019 to work for the European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet). In her current role as Head of Secretariat for EMODnet, Kate leads a team that coordinates the activities of > 130 EMODnet partners across Europe, with the core goal to deliver Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable (FAIR) marine data and knowledge for the public good, to support evidence-based policy making, ocean conservation and management, sustainable practices in the Blue Economy, innovative research, and more. This includes work as a knowledge broker, providing expert advice on the use of ocean data to catalyse the green transition, connecting data providers and services with users, and advocating for high quality, open access ocean observation and data to drive an knowledge-based society that is empowered to tackle the existential threats to our Planet, namely ocean and climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution. Kate’s work is also set in a global ‘one Ocean’ context, with direct contribution to the global ocean data ecosystem and to the United Nations Ocean Decade, including Challenge 8 to produce a digital representation of the global Ocean.
Kate has always been passionate about the natural world and humankind’s central place within it. Her interest and ability in science communication won her competitive places at a British Council Communicating Climate Change workshop (2007) and being selected as a British Media Fellow working at Nature journal news (2010). These opportunities honed her writing skills and fueled her interest in the power of communication. In her day job, Kate regularly gives presentations on ocean knowledge and wider ocean and sustainability issues to ocean professionals and wider society. However, she increasingly believes that citizen engagement and connecting science with the arts is a key part of the solution to tackling ocean and climate change. In 2022 Kate took this a step further in a voluntary expedition of like-minded changemakers to the Norwegian Arctic where she organized ocean observation sampling to complement studies into marine mammal behaviour. Fieldwork also included cold-water snorkelling with orcas and humpback whales, which was an unforgettable experience. Since then, she has given presentations at schools and to her family, friends and local community. The experience also brought a wider viewpoint on ocean knowledge into her professional work, including the innate value of citizen science and knowledge from local communities and indigenous peoples.
Kate is also creative, playing violin and piano, and writing haikus. She is very intrigued by the science-arts interface and looks forward to exploring this further on BIG ACE 2025, to co-create powerful communication and citizen engagement that inspires emotional connection with the Ocean, catalysing awareness, action and positive change.
Kate has British-Belgian nationality and lives in Bruges, Belgium with her husband (also an ocean expert!) and their two children.
Kate has always been passionate about the natural world and humankind’s central place within it. Her interest and ability in science communication won her competitive places at a British Council Communicating Climate Change workshop (2007) and being selected as a British Media Fellow working at Nature journal news (2010). These opportunities honed her writing skills and fueled her interest in the power of communication. In her day job, Kate regularly gives presentations on ocean knowledge and wider ocean and sustainability issues to ocean professionals and wider society. However, she increasingly believes that citizen engagement and connecting science with the arts is a key part of the solution to tackling ocean and climate change. In 2022 Kate took this a step further in a voluntary expedition of like-minded changemakers to the Norwegian Arctic where she organized ocean observation sampling to complement studies into marine mammal behaviour. Fieldwork also included cold-water snorkelling with orcas and humpback whales, which was an unforgettable experience. Since then, she has given presentations at schools and to her family, friends and local community. The experience also brought a wider viewpoint on ocean knowledge into her professional work, including the innate value of citizen science and knowledge from local communities and indigenous peoples.
Kate is also creative, playing violin and piano, and writing haikus. She is very intrigued by the science-arts interface and looks forward to exploring this further on BIG ACE 2025, to co-create powerful communication and citizen engagement that inspires emotional connection with the Ocean, catalysing awareness, action and positive change.
Kate has British-Belgian nationality and lives in Bruges, Belgium with her husband (also an ocean expert!) and their two children.
