Marina Bowen is a Biogeographer focusing on species distribution modelling for Antarctic vegetation. She holds a Bsc in Geography from the Institute of Geography and Spatial Planning (IGOT) at the University of Lisbon and a Master’s of Research (MRes) in Living Planet Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation from Imperial College London. Her masters thesis focused on the development of the first species distribution model (SDM) for the dominant vegetation species across the Antarctic Peninsula. 

  She is currently a fellow on the ISOMAP project (ref. 2024.17201.PEX), funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology, I.P. (FCT). The project is based at the Centre for Geographical Studies (CEG) and supervised by Professora Paula Matos. It aims to develop the first process-based, high-resolution species distribution models (SDMs) for Antarctic vegetation, integrating ecophysiological data from stable isotopes, microscale remote-sensing variables, and biotic interactions across four dominant lichen and bryophyte species. 

  Her fieldwork has taken her to King George Island, Antarctica, on two occasions. In 2025, she participated in the BIOCRUST-25 project, and in 2026 the VEGMOD-1 project, both funded by the Portuguese Polar Program (PROPOLAR).