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BIDDEFORD, Maine

Samantha Schildroth studies effects of overpopulation on freshwater resources in Kiribati as part as SEA Semester

In August, Samantha Schildroth (Medical Biology and Environmental Science, ’17) completed an eight-week Sea Education Association (SEA) Semester summer program in the Phoenix Islands.

Schildroth’s research focused on policy issues concerning the island nation of Kiribati, where she studied the effects of overpopulation on freshwater resources and the resulting consequences on human health.

Kiribati, says Schildroth, is an atoll nation, and for fresh water its population is dependent on water lenses, convex layers of fresh groundwater that float on top of denser saltwater. The island’s increasing population, she says, is straining this resource.

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