Mitigation and Adaptation Research Institute (MARI)

The Mitigation and Adaptation Research Institute (MARI) engages in research to produce practice-relevant knowledge to address climate impacts and sea level rise. MARI operates on the understanding that society needs to find sustainable solutions to the challenge of climate change and sea level rise, which cannot be found without a solid foundation in solution-focused research. MARI facilitates and engages in collaborative, transdisciplinary research that is motivated by real-world problems and focused on finding solutions.

MARI holds public events, workshops, and forums to present, review, and discuss research. These meetings allow stakeholders to gather and discuss best practices for adaptation to sea level rise and flooding. MARI also offers support to the Hampton Roads Intergovernmental Pilot Project.

For MARI, research has a focus on:

• hazard probability, including a detailed description of the hazards;
• the development of a decadal sea-level forecasting service;
• understanding vulnerability to extreme sea levels and slowly changing mean sea levels and the development of strategies for resilient and adaptive coastal communities;
• risk assessments as a basis for risk reduction through managed exposure;
• increasing public risk awareness and risk knowledge, as well as the knowledge on resilience and adaptive capabilities, as a basis for a thorough risk reduction;
• participation in societal deliberations on societal response to the challenge of variable sea levels.

MARI was established by Old Dominion University as part of its Climate Change & Sea Level Rise Initiative. The Institute operates out of Hampton Roads, Virginia, where the high rate of local sea level rise, exposure to extreme weather events, and complex socio-economic structure make the region a "natural laboratory".

Phone: 757-683-5335

Related Organizations:

• Old Dominion University