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Earth Microbiology Initiative
Microorganisms fill essential functional roles in all of Earth’s ecosystems yet our understanding of microbial abundance, distribution, and metabolism remains surprisingly limited. Columbia University’s new Earth Microbiology Initiative (EMI) has brought together a group of scientists and engineers from across the University to begin coordinated research on Earth’s microbial life. EMI is actively engaged in environmental monitoring and experimentation to provide the sound scientific foundation required to inform effective management and remediation. Examples of EMI research topics in the Hudson River include microbial response to oxygen depletion, pathogen inputs and persistence in the River, real time monitoring of water quality and environmental conditions, genomics and physiology of microbial communities from IODP cores, and microbial response to carbon sequestration activities.
SGT highlights
Division of Ocean and Climate Physics 
Scientists in the Division of Ocean and Climate Physics (OCP) delve into the mysteries of Earth's climate in order to document its change and to build an understanding of its controlling forces. Climate change is a crucial factor that has influenced human history over the ages. Therefore, reliable prediction is vital both to humankind's future and to the well-being of the planet. > more 
Division of Seismology, Geology and Tectonophysics 
The staff and students who make up the Seismology, Geology and Tectonophysics (SG&T) Division are part of a long tradition in the solid earth sciences at Lamont. SG&T researchers are at the forefront of theoretical and observational seismology, solid earth dynamics, rock mechanics, structural geology and tectonics, and sedimentary geology, and are making lasting contributions to the study of earthquakes, the structure of the Earth’s crust, mantle, and core, and the large-scale motions and deformation of the tectonic plates. The breadth of our work includes theory, observation and computation. SG&T scientists also serve the nation and the world by pursuing applied research and providing advice to national and international organizations in two critical areas: reducing society's vulnerability to natural hazards, and verifying international treaties governing nuclear weapons testing > more 
Division of Marine Geology and Geophysics 
Fifty years ago, with the purchase and refit of a 200' pleasure yacht renamed the Vema, Maurice Ewing inaugurated Lamont's exploration of the largely unknown terrain beneath the world's oceans. Today, members of the Marine Geology and Geophysics (MG&G) Division remain explorers at heart, motivated by curiosity to understand these remote and forbidding parts of our planet. Over the years, the tools of exploration have improved from simple echosounders and towed seismic source-and-receiver instruments, to MultiChannel Seismic (MCS) Reflection techniques which allow us to probe more deeply into the Earth, and multibeam bathymetric and side-looking sonar imagers for mapping large areas of the seafloor in ever greater detail. > more 
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SG&T scientists employ a broad spectrum of tools and techniques to develop a better understanding of the mechanics and dynamics of earthquakes and faulting. These techniques include laboratory and experimental studies of rock and fault mechanics, numerical models of earthquake dynamics, and observational studies of earthquake nucleation, seismic slip, and ground shaking. 
Geodynamics research in SG&T is focused on understanding the forces that drive deformation and tectonism in the solid Earth, and the role that rock rheology, physical state (solid or partially molten), and composition play in controlling such deformation. The techniques include computational and laboratory studies of deformation and melt migration, and the application of observational geodetic and seismic techniques to probe these processes at the field scale. 
Our Ocean Bottom Seismology (OBS) Laboratory develops and operates cutting-edge instrumentation for measuring deformation of the ocean floor in a variety of experimental settings. One of our primary efforts is to operate a component of the National Science Foundation's OBS Instrumentation Pool (
