Prabodha Weerarathne (She/her)
IMPRS
Main Focus
Prabodha's research investigates how urbanisation and long-term human–environment interactions are recorded in lake sediments, tracing centuries of land-use change, pollution, and ecosystem transformation in urban landscapes.
Curriculum Vitae
Prabodha obtained her MPhil in Earth Sciences from the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, where her thesis focused on investigating prehistoric human diet and environmental adaptations along Sri Lanka's southern coast. She also holds a BA from the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka.
Her work sits at the intersection of Land Use Change and Regenerative Practices, Tipping Points and Major Transitions, and the Anthropocene Biosphere, using multi-proxy sediment analysis to reconstruct how human activity has reshaped landscapes and ecosystems over centennial to millennial timescales. Her doctoral project is centred around studying how urbanisation has shaped surrounding landscapes and aquatic ecosystems over the last millennium, identifying when anthropogenic signals emerge, how they relate to phases of urban development, and how impacts differ between larger and smaller cities.